By not backing free school meals, the Government is showing us exactly who they are
A prime minister, a chancellor and a footballer enter a room… and only one has compassion and any idea about the British spirit, and the British people.
Millions of children face hunger this half-term. This isn’t new, but the situation is far worse now due to coronavirus.
Official figures show that 1.4million disadvantaged children were eligible for free school meals in England before the coronavirus pandemic. But that number is estimated to have risen dramatically since, by as much as 900,000 according to the Food Foundation think tank.
Of course it has – many people are now struggling. That is, apart from much of the super-rich, who have seen an obscene increase in their wealth.
The Government’s first duty is to protect its citizens. Ensuring children – who are our future and the ones who will pay for this crisis in more ways than one – don’t go hungry is a duty that we should all get behind.
So many families have grieved for loved ones, lost jobs, or had their hours cut and been pushed into poverty. For the UK Government to ignore this is especially sickening, because the data is there for us all to see. The sad fact is that the furlough scheme, which has supported around one in eight workers, is ending. Families are in serious hardship and it’s about to get worse.
The UK is the fifth richest country in the world, yet I see people all over my Twitter feed claiming that the answer to preventing child hunger is to tell people not to have kids if they cannot afford to feed them. But no one expected to face the challenges of the pandemic, or to lose loved ones this way.
While Marcus Rashford MBE is showing every single day just how amazing he is, with his awe-inspiring campaign to extend free school meals so that kids can be fed outside of term time, the Government is showing just how inhumane they can be.
Speaking about school children in his constituency, Tory MP Ben Bradley tweeted that ‘one kid lives in a crack den, another in a brothel’ and, responding to another Twitter user in a separate column, he seemed to imply that this is what vouchers for free school meals effectively fund.
Apart from how ridiculous this statement is, as an MP who knows this is happening, I hope he is actively campaigning to ensure these neglected children are safe, and protecting them from ‘crack dens’ and ‘brothels’. Because either way, by his own admission, they are still going hungry. He should apologise for being ridiculous, incredibly offensive and for stigmatising working-class people.
The Conservatives have shown us, time and time again, just who they are. Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings have consistently proved that it’s one rule for them, and another for everyone else.
The Government has got away with pulling the wool over people’s eyes for so long that they have forgotten the British spirit
Whilst they mis-spend millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money on dodgy contracts, the Tories claim that providing help through councils, rather than vouchers, is ‘the right way’ to support families. But the Government is being irresponsible by not giving the Councils enough money.
Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick declared at the start of the pandemic that councils should be doing what they could to help the most vulnerable in society, saying that ‘the government will do whatever necessary to support these efforts’.
Many councils have since said they haven’t received this money back some are on the edge of bankruptcy. On top of that, they are having to spend even more to save our children from going hungry.
They also refuse to implement the Real Living Wage and they persist with a Universal Credit system that is often delayed and is not enough to actually live on. This Government has spent £12bn on a contact tracing app that does not work. Meanwhile, Labour analysis revealed that £150m has been wasted by the Government on unusable face masks that could have covered the cost of free school meals until Easter.
The facts are plainly there to see – this Government has no problem wasting massive amounts of taxpayers’ money, including on contracts with private companies. Yet they refuse to spend it on feeding the nation’s children in these unprecedented times. At the end of the day it is all about political priorities.
Marcus Rashford is an absolute hero and his mum must be so proud of him – I know I am. His campaigning has been an inspiration to all, he has galvanised the public and brought out the best of society.
The response from community groups, businesses, restaurants, charities, Councils and so many others has been incredible. This includes, I’m proud to say, my local Brent Council and businesses in the area who will support our children.
The Government has got away with pulling the wool over people’s eyes for so long that they have forgotten the British spirit.
Most Britons have more in common than the Government thinks and, across the country, people are stepping up against discrimination and Conservative cruelty, doing all they can to help those in need.
Marcus Rashford’s petition to end child food poverty has now gained over one million signatures. Another petition, to increase the minimum wage, has had almost 70,000 signatures.
The British public wants action on these issues, and the Government has the resources to take it. So when will they finally take note and do it?
It is never too late to do the right thing. We simply cannot allow working families to be earning less than the living wage nor children to go hungry.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk
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