However, Lady Stroud added: “Renewed restrictions and constant hints of tougher measures after Christmas means that we are putting these poverty gains at risk.”

A paper produced by the think tank stated that the “deterioration of the labour market” caused by the response to Covid-19 had “a significant impact on poverty”. 

It said that poverty levels stood at 13.9 million before the pandemic, a drop of 400,000 compared to the year before, but that they rose by 900,000 over the course of the next year.

“The largest driver of this increase was the deterioration in the labour market that was associated with the response to the pandemic,” the paper said. “This increased poverty by 1.2 million people. Other changes in earnings and prices increased poverty by 540,000.”

The analysis used a measurement of poverty developed by the Social Metrics Commission, whose commissioners include Lady Stroud and representatives of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

However, it added that government welfare changes, including the temporary £20-per-week uplift to Universal Credit payments, helped to protect 840,000 people from poverty, leaving an overall increase of 900,000.

‘Enough is enough’ over restrictions

The findings will fuel warnings by Conservative MPs against further restrictions after Christmas.

Richard Drax, the MP for South Dorset, said: “Evidence is showing there is no need for further restrictions. [It is] time to trust people to get on with their own lives and for the state to back right off. Another lockdown will not prevent the spread of omicron, but it would devastate lives and livelihoods. Enough is enough.”

Last week, a House of Commons library note warned that while “employment levels have been increasing in recent months, while unemployment levels have been falling… a decrease in self-employment over the pandemic means that employment levels have still not recovered”.

A government spokesman said: “The Government has spent more than £400 billion on an unprecedented support package to protect people’s jobs and livelihoods while supporting businesses and public services. This included a huge investment in the welfare safety net.

“We know the best route out of poverty is through work, and the action we have taken has restored numbers on payrolls to pre-pandemic levels and kept unemployment far below forecasts.

“We have also extended economic support as we continue on the road to recovery. Most recently, we announced an additional £1 billion for the businesses most impacted by omicron.”