The phrase ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ has been so overused lately that we’ve lost sight of what it really means.

But every day in this country nearly four million people, including one million children, are leading lives of quiet desperation, unable to provide for themselves even the most fundamental things one needs to lead a decent life, according to a major new academic study done with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Perhaps even more alarmingly, the number of children in the UK who fall under the rubric of “destitution” has nearly trebled since 2017.

Small children going to bed hungry, in cold, damp homes, with limited ability to wash or put on clean clothes. It is Victorian in its bleakness.

This is a national shame. And the worst of it could be avoided if our current Conservative government thought it was worth its attention.

One of the report’s authors, Prof Suzanne Fitzpatrick at Heriot Watt University, says “To have these horrifying levels of destitution in a country like ours is a political choice. The scale of extreme material hardship we have uncovered reflects the state abdicating its responsibility to ensure that all members of our society are able to meet their most basic physical needs to stay warm, dry, clean and fed without having to rely on charitable help. There must be immediate action from all levels of government to tackle this social emergency.”

Yet I don’t see anything like the urgent action we need from our government.

We have a Prime Minister who is said to be weighing up the merits of cutting inheritance tax or stamp duty this autumn as yet another bribe to try and secure the votes of the wealthy in a pathetic attempt to stem his party’s electoral losses.

And this week the cap is lifted on bankers’ bonuses in another Brexit bonanza, so the City of London can return to the crazy days of unlimited payouts.

You don’t have to be a wizard to figure out that Sunak is not obsessing about the young children who are going to bed at night with no food in their bellies or heat in their rooms.

No. This Tory government is playing to the wealthiest to try and firm up support for a party that is in desperate disarray.

If it were different, though, what tangible things could a government do to meaningfully address this destitution?

Heriot Watt recommends the following:

“The UK government should introduce an ‘Essentials Guarantee’ into Universal Credit, to ensure that everyone has a protected minimum amount of support to afford essentials like food and household bills.”

It suggests lowering the current limit on benefits deductions, reforming the punitive benefit sanctions regime and ensuring people can access the disability benefits they are entitled to. Almost two thirds of those who experienced destitution in 2022 have a disability or chronic health problem, so this really matters.

These recommendations echo current Liberal Democrat policy, which would reverse the Conservatives’ £20 a week cut to Universal Credit, raise legacy benefits and replace the sanctions regime to help people into work.

As a party we have set a target of “ending deep poverty within a decade” – because we believe this really matters. Not just for those who are desperate, but for all of us who care about society.

It may be another year until a general election sees the likely end of this Conservative government. So there is still time for them to change direction, and start the long journey of ending the shame of destitution in 21st Century Britain.

Caroline Voaden is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for South Devon.