ABSTRACT
Lone parents in Britain face an almost impossible task. Those without paid jobs have to work hard to stretch out their inadequate income to make ends meet. Those in paid work have to struggle with the conflicting demands of work and family life, usually on low incomes. Women, particularly those from poor, working class backgrounds, are expected to depend on men for the bulk of their income or, failing this, they are expected to be dependent on an employer. Those who either choose, or find themselves, outside this field of dependency, receive minimal help to survive. Those in paid work fare slightly better but their concentration in low-paid jobs still makes their lives difficult. There are some signs that, at the turn of the twenty-first century, this is changing, with increasing benefits paid to non-working lone parents, but there is still a long way to go before such benefits remove lone parent families from poverty.
