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Following last week’s parliamentary vote against supporting Marcus Rashford’s campaign to extend free school meals (FSM) during the holidays to prevent children from starving, the government has faced strong criticism for refusing to support the soccer player’s proposal.
Yet despite the growing backlash, some conservatives have spoken out in defense of ministers’ continued refusal to turn politics 180 degrees:
Ben bradley
The Conservative deputy from Mansfield tweeted on Friday: “In a school in Mansfield, 75% of the children have a social worker, 25% of the parents are illiterate. His farm is the center of crime in the area. One child lives in a crack den, another in a brothel. These are the children who most need our help, extending FSM does not reach these children “.
Responding to a user who responded by saying “£ 20 cash straight to a crack den and brothel really sounds like the way to go with this one,” Bradley tweeted: “That’s what the FSM vouchers did in fact over the summer .. . “
Following strong criticism, Bradley subsequently deleted the tweets, claiming they had been taken out of context.
Mark Jenkinson
Defending his Conservative colleague after Bradley’s comments were seized upon by Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, Workington Jenkinson’s MP tweeted on Friday: “I know in my constituency that, no matter how small, food packages are sold or exchanged for drugs.”
And he added: “And that is packages, not vouchers, which have a higher monetary value. Like I said, a relatively tiny number, but we can’t pretend it doesn’t happen. Pretending, scoring political points, doesn’t help anyone. “
Paul holmes
The Conservative MP from Eastleigh, in Hampshire, published a statement on his website on Saturday arguing that it was unfair to paint Wednesday’s vote as a choice between “feeding hungry children and not feeding hungry children.” He argued that “no child should go hungry”, highlighting the £ 9 billion invested in the welfare system, mainly through universal credit, as well as the £ 63 million poverty fund for local councils.
But he also tried to point the finger at the opposition, adding: “The hardships activists like Marcus Rashford experienced happened under a Labor government. Furthermore, the Labor Party, when it was in government in 2008, specifically rejected proposals to extend free school meals to children during the holidays.
“This is not a comment on the successes or errors of that decision. I highlight this because surely the level of need during the financial crisis was comparable to this pandemic, but I did not see the same levels of outrage or abuse back then as today. This includes threats to my colleagues ”.
Danny kruger
The Conservative MP from Devizes in Wiltshire wrote in his local newspaper, the Gazette & Herald, on Sunday: “This is a really important and emotional issue and I understand why so many people are up in arms about it. Many families across the country are struggling to survive. The benefits barely provide enough money to live on, and for some people, they don’t provide enough.
“The problem is that generous, unconditional and universal entitlements to benefits trap people dependent on the state and rightly infuriate people who work hard for themselves. That’s why I believe in a more flexible and community-led approach to wellness. “
Brandon lewis
The Northern Ireland secretary defended the government’s position on Sunday, telling The Andrew Marr Show that the situation had changed since the summer. He said: “At the holidays, what we have actually implemented is not just the increase in universal credit, because obviously the schools are closed, so it is about making sure that the welfare system can cover and support what the people need. So we’ve invested the increase in universal credit, around a little over £ 1,000 a year, but also, very specifically, we’ve invested £ 63 million in local authorities to support and help people in distress … and various local authorities are using it to do exactly that. “
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