Whatever happened to Make Poverty History?

Nelson Mandela stepped onto the podium in Trafalgar Square. It was a cold February day in London in 2005, and thousands had gathered to witness the historic moment. The great South African leader, aged 86, walked towards the podium slowly before gripping it on both sides. He looked at the crowd and his face lit up.

It was only then that Adrian Lovett, who led campaigns for Oxfam, allowed himself to breathe and think: “We’ve made it.”

Mandela’s speech (left) was part of a galvanising movement in the UK to Make Poverty History. That year, hundreds of thousands of people joined marches and wore white wristbands for a campaign that culminated in Live 8 concerts and the G8 summit in Gleneagles in July.

“It was a plan that had a great deal of hope in it,” Lovett recalls. It had all started a year and a half earlier, when he and colleagues from other major charities wrote to then-prime minister Tony Blair about the G8 summit, which would bring together eight global leaders. 

“In those days, you could get something out of politicians if you planned ahead and set out what you wanted,” says Lovett, now the executive director of ONE Campaign.

Blair wrote back that he wanted to focus on girls’ education – an “important area but quite narrow” – and the group responded that they wanted more ambition and that they were going to mount a campaign to demand it. That became Make Poverty History.

The campaign was launched on New Years’ Day in 2005 in an episode of The Vicar of Dibley, written by Richard Curtis, which saw the vicar and other residents of Dibley marching to Gleneagles wearing Make
Poverty History wristbands.

“It was incredible that we got away with it,” Lovett laughs, noting that the BBC later got into trouble for being too close to the campaign. The primetime TV slot put Make Poverty History firmly in the public imagination.

Then Nelson Mandela got involved. He was “the most important human being living on the planet” to many, and Lovett felt pressure not to let him down. Mandela was busy and elderly, and it was a cold winter. They were unsure he would show until the last moment. There were also fears that crowds would not come. 

“We hadn’t really pushed it,” says Lovett. “We were just trusting that, with a bit of media that had gone out, saying that he was going to be there, that would take care of it. I did slightly worry that only 500 people would show up, but it overflowed.”

Read more:

• The far-right’s resurgence was only a matter of time after Black Lives Matter
• Wales wants to be anti-racist by 2030. But it won’t happen until Gypsies and Travellers get justice
• As the government moves to ban Palestine Action, are terror laws being used for ‘political policing’?

An incredible 22,000 people came to Trafalgar Square that day, but Mandela wasn’t due to arrive until 15 minutes before his speech. Lovett went onto the stage to say some words about Make Poverty History, and as he returned backstage, Mandela arrived.

The first democratically elected president of South Africa called on a “great generation” to “rise up” and “make poverty history in 2005”. 

For 13-year-old Thomas McCallum and 15-year-old Matthew Hector, who were among school children who shared the stage with Mandela that day and made a speech themselves, it had real impact. They recall the “electric” atmosphere. 

“Hopeful is a good word to describe it. There was a lot of optimism,” McCallum says.

Hector adds that it was “scary”, knowing they were going to speak in front of thousands, but it was an opportunity to “have a say and a way to make a change in the world”. 

“It totally changed you,” McCallum adds. “When [Mandela] spoke to you, you forgot that everyone else was there and you were enraptured with him. All the adults were treating him as high and mighty, and the reality was that he was approachable, warm and friendly. It was a bit like meeting your grandpa.”

Both Hector and McCallum have gone on to make the world a better place in their own ways – Hector as a schoolteacher, and McCallum as a paramedic and chair of the non-profit organisation Palacerigg Community Trust.

“It’s nice to see us all doing careers where we’re helping other people,” Hector says, adding that subconsciously he feels it made him want to make a difference – if not on a global scale, in his own way by “changing young people’s lives and hopefully making them better people”.

A month after the Mandela speech, the majority of UK MPs signed an early motion supporting the campaign and its demands for trade justice, debt relief and aid. In April that year, 25,000 people marched in London for Make Poverty History. It hit another gear in the run-up to the G8, and more than 225,000 protesters gathered in Edinburgh on 2 July.

That same day, Live 8 concerts started, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. More than 1,000 musicians performed, and it was broadcast on television networks worldwide. The final event was held on 6 July in Edinburgh, as global leaders gathered for the summit.

It was a huge moment – but it was also a major week for news in other ways. London won the 2012 Olympics on 6 July, and then there were the catastrophic 7/7 attacks the next day. 

“I remember being in the media room at the summit and everyone was seeing the news. Blair had to fly straight back to London. Number one, it was a horrible, terrible thing,” Lovett says. 

“We were all worried about where family members were in London. But number two, we also thought we were going to lose this whole campaign. We thought that, for understandable reasons, the summit may now be overshadowed. 

“We were counting on the prime minister to twist some arms and make sure the others all lined up, and then he was gone. But he came back that night, and then 24 hours later, they got enough done that they could all sign the communique.”

G8 leaders committed to the spending target of 0.7% of national income on aid, promised an extra $48 billion per year by 2010 to fight issues such as malaria and HIV, made new commitments to Fairtrade, and $1bn of debt was dropped annually for poor countries. 

These changes have had an impact on the world. More than one in five people lived in poverty in 2005, and now it’s less than one in 10.

“We’ve halved the proportion of people who are in extreme poverty. That’s an extraordinary thing and wouldn’t have happened if people hadn’t bothered, whether they were policymakers or activists or the vicars or whatever,” Lovett says. “But it still only leaves the job half done.”

He explains that it is a more complicated picture today and the world is at risk of moving backwards rather than forwards. Now, Donald Trump is in charge in the US and is slashing aid budgets – with other countries following. The UK government has plans to reduce aid spending to 0.3% of national income by 2027.

Meanwhile, there is continued global conflict, economic insecurity and the climate crisis is far more severe and apparent.

“It’s harder and more complex in terms of our ability to mobilise people,” Lovett adds.

People are no longer tuning in to live TV programming in the way that they were in 2005. Angharad
McKenzie, who is the director of fundraising at Comic Relief, says that in a time before iPhones and Twitter, “movements worked in community-driven ways”. 

Understanding of poverty has changed too. McKenzie was six years into her career, working at Practical Action, when Make Poverty History happened. Since then, organisations have “come to respect and realise that poverty is multidisciplinary”. 

“There are so many intersections and there is not a one-dimensional view of it. There’s no singular story of poverty,” McKenzie says.

Lovett says it is more difficult to campaign today, but he still feels hopeful. The UK public has a propensity to give, but for a campaign to achieve the momentum of Make Poverty History, it needs to inspire people. It also needs to be truthful.

“You have to have a vision for the world you want to create the change you want to see, and you have to be able to describe that in vivid terms and compelling terms,” Lovett says.

“But you have to deal with the negatives and be upfront about that. And then you need a plan.”

McKenzie says people can make a change now by showing kindness to their neighbours, whether that is someone across the street or continent. Policymakers are needed for major change, but individuals can make their mark too.

“I am a passionate believer in radical hope being a driver of humanity,” McKenzie says. “Some people say it’s the hope that kills you. Some people say it’s the hope that keeps you going. 

“I think we have to believe that the world can be fair and equitable and that we can always do better.”

Big Issue’s call for a Poverty Zero law

There are currently 3.8 million people in the UK living in extreme poverty, almost double the figure from seven years ago. 

That’s why Big Issue Group is building on Make Poverty History’s legacy by calling for the first ever ‘Poverty Zero’ law to tie the government to eradicating destitution by 2035.

It would require governments to set poverty reduction targets, and hold them legally accountable to those commitments, as they are with net Zero. 

Rhianon Steeds, campaigns manager at Big Issue, says: “Make Poverty History made an extraordinary mark on the public consciousness. The ambition and energy behind the campaign brought millions of people on board on the premise that poverty is not an inherent part of society and that a better world is possible. 

“This is the legacy that we’re building on with Big Issue’s Poverty Zero campaign, calling for a new legal duty for governments to set poverty reduction targets.”

Get involved in our campaign to end poverty.

Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more.