And reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank - which have peddled the Thatcherite orthodoxy that rising inequality was good for economic growth - have done an about turn: reducing inequality benefits the poor immediately, they say, and will also eventually benefit everyone through higher economic growth.But in all this debate one set of voices has still gone unheard - those of women such as Maria Jones, the voices of the poor themselves.Life did not deal Maria Jones a good hand. The United Nations Development Programme revealed that the gap between rich and poor in the UK is now as great as it is in Nigeria; Britain is the most unequal country in the West. But to adopt them misses something very important in the transformation of an amazing woman.The poor are so often seen as the passive objects of history rather than its active subjects. This week members of the public are being invited by the Social Security Secretary, Peter Lilley, to phone his benefits Beat-a-Cheat Hotline to shop those who are poor enough to be on benefits yet enterprising/dishonest enough to be trying to earn a bit of money on the side.Last month saw the publication of three macro-reports on poverty. She was sorting through her papers, preparing for a trip to the House of Commons next day. "I'll wear my long, cool skirt," she said thoughtfully, as though her wardrobe afforded many options. "Most of the social workers are disgusted by the way I live," she said, matter-of-factly "They have different standards." Indeed they do.

Plaster walls are adorned by an ancient coat of green paint, a hologram picture of a lion and an old Timothy Whites-style painting of a white stallion. The room is largely empty except for a massive fish tank, a TV and video and a battered three-piece suite. On one of the chairs sat Maria, a plastic briefcase on her knee. He urged the park authority and the users of the lake to find another way of reconciling conflicts.Future of the parks, page 6. Suspend your judgement, for a moment.

When you walk up the path to Maria Jones's house you see broken furniture in an unkempt garden and a front door with its window panels missing or covered in polythene. Inside, there are holes in doors made by her two half-Rottweiler mongrels. ''I'm appalled and frustrated that the Secretary of State has declined to approve the firm recommendation of the inspector,'' said John Toothill, the authority's chief officer. ''I can't understand the system.''He said Mr Gummer had ''given in'' to the powerboat users, who deterred other lake users. It was a short-sighted decision which would ultimately harm tourism inside the Lake District.On a busy weekend several hundred powerboats travel the 10-mile-long lake at speed, many towing water-skiers.

The park authority and several local groups hoped a 10mph limit would curb the noise, wake and other disturbances caused by the boats, bringing the tranquillity sought by most walkers, anglers, nature lovers and enthusiasts for other water sports like canoeing and sailing.Mr Gummer said the use of Windermere by powerboats was large and long established, and drastically to curtail it was unreasonable. He was seen on 9 July at around 4.45 pm near Chillenden Windmill. He has dark brown collar-length hair, and was wearing dark trousers with an open top.. Plans for a powerboat speed limit on Lake Windermere were thwarted yesterday when John Gummer, Secretary of State for the Environment, refused to allow a by-law proposed by the Lake District National Park.

His decision to reject the 10mph limit is being seen as one the least "green" he has made. He went against the advice of an independent inspector who held a 13-week public inquiry into the proposed by-law. The park authority, which spent pounds 500,000 preparing and arguing its case at the inquiry, was angry and deeply disappointed. Detective Inspector Ray Cozens, one of the inquiry team, appealed for him to get in touch.He is described as aged 25 to 35, white, of slim, muscular build and of average height. Her major impairment now is her speech."Kent police yesterday issued a description of a man they believe may be a crucial witness.