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Ruth Woolsey is a Politics and International Relations doctoral researcher and lecturer at Leeds Beckett University. Her current research looks at what people understand about the difficulties of moving out of poverty in the UK. Her Interests lie in what might change social policy to improve the life chances of those born into low-income households. The understanding is that attitudes among the general public have to change to pressure governments to act. The hegemonic discourse is that poverty is largely due to individual behaviour and deficits – a feature of neoliberalism – rather than the inequality that is reproduced to benefit those holding wealth and power. Therefore, a robust counter-hegemony is needed to change the narrative and address the greed of the minority. Focusing on upskilling and education alone will not benefit the most marginalised without structural change.