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Downing Street is under increasing pressure to make a U-turn in the provision of free school meals during the holidays in England, and Conservative MPs are increasingly angered by the damaging impact of the government’s refusal to back down from the campaign directed by footballer Marcus. Rashford.
The Guardian understands that discontent is brewing behind the scenes among Conservatives as Labor tried to seize the lead on Sunday with their leader, Keir Starmer, pledging to force a new Commons vote before Christmas unless there was a rethink. , after your party. the motion on the policy was rejected last week in parliament.
As dozens of councils, including some led by conservatives, and companies across the country have stepped in in recent days to offer to feed children during the October semester, the sense of unease within conservative circles is hardening.
A Conservative MP told The Guardian that the problem had been a “political handling disaster” and that “they have never met so many Tory MPs and council leaders so angry.”
Meanwhile, senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin became the latest to break ranks to warn that the government had “misunderstood the mood of the country” on the issue and would have to rethink it. Former Children’s Minister Tim Loughton also said it was a government mistake not to extend free school meals during the holidays. Loughton, who abstained in the Commons vote last week, said he would vote to keep school meals over the Christmas holidays and until the pandemic is over in the event a motion is put before MPs again.
It came as Laura Sandys, a former Conservative MP and founder of the Food Foundation think tank, predicted a U-turn from the government, which has backed calls by the Rashford task force for implementation of key food strategy recommendations. national in an attempt to end childhood. food poverty.
On Sunday, the 22-year-old England and Manchester United striker continued to use his social media platform to highlight companies offering support, tweeting a map that apparently showed dozens in England, adding: “Have you ever been more proud to be british? And we still go, wow wow wow. “
Meanwhile, Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield chimed in Sunday to compare the debate on the issue to something from the pages of Charles Dickens’ 19th-century novel Oliver Twist.
Downing Street was already forced to take a U-turn once on the subject, and decided to provide meal vouchers of £ 15 a week to eligible children for the summer after pressure from Rashford, but has refused to do it during the next vacation. In an apparent softening of the tone after a 10th spokesperson last week declined to praise the boards and companies offering help, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said Rashford deserved “great credit” for his work on the subject, although he held firm to the Downing Street line.
Defending the government’s stance, Lewis told the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday that the country was in a different position compared to the summer, adding: “We have put the boost in universal credit, around just over £ 1,000 to year, but also very specifically, we have invested £ 63 million in local authorities to support and help people in distress … and various local authorities are using it to do exactly that. “
But a Conservative MP said – referring to the Ministry of Housing, Department of Work and Pensions and Department of Education – “It has been a disaster of political handling. No 10, the handling of MHCLG / DWP / DfE has been regrettable. I have never met so many Tory MPs and council leaders so angry.
“It could be argued that FSM [free school meals] not the best route to get support for vulnerable families and those specific benefits through our £ 9 billion UC [universal credit] recharging is a better route to help vulnerable families: especially since FSM excludes preschool children. But this week’s driving means that moment has passed. “
Commons education select committee chair Robert Halfon, who wrote an article for the Spectator on Saturday making the Conservative case for extending free school meals and was one of five Conservative MPs who voted against the government last week , said: “No one has the benevolence or monopoly of compassion on this issue and the Labor Party should stop pretending that it does and really what we should do is come together and find a suitable solution, all parties, and it would be worthwhile for the government to sit properly and genuinely with Marcus Rashford, Henry Dimbleby [co-founder of the Leon restaurant chain] and others to solve this once and for all. “
“I very much hope that [the government] consider my recommendations, “said Dimbleby, whose report had concluded that without urgent state intervention, the Covid-19 crisis would lead to a” sharp increase in food insecurity and outright hunger. “
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who is chairman of the defense select committee and voted with the government last week, is now calling on Downing Street to change course on the issue and extend free school meals during the holidays.
“Providing free school meals is clearly very simple, people know it, it has worked before, it makes sense to use it in the future,” he told The Guardian, adding, “This generation of children has had their lives impacted in a way. that we haven’t seen since World War II, we must do everything we can to provide support. If that means using a system that is highly regarded, our government should recognize that that is the direction we must travel. “
Food Foundation founder Sandys said: “Everyone must do the right thing, which is to adopt the policies that the Rashford task force has proposed.
“The people who are closest to this understand it, including those who represent the lowest income neighborhoods. Many conservative-run councils are understanding the real and deep need and would expect the government to step in over the next two weeks. I’m just disappointed that they didn’t make it in time for this midterm break. “
The head of Trussell Trust, the UK’s largest network of charitable food banks, Emma Revie, called on the government to offer families in difficulty more generous support.
Revie told The Guardian: “Marcus Rashford’s campaign has been incredible, shedding light on the incredible compassion and generosity in our communities. But it’s not okay for someone to have to rely on charity to put food on the table for their family.
“I hope that we can channel some of that compassion into longer-term solutions that go beyond the school holidays.”
The Trussell Trust network operates over 1,200 charitable food banks across the UK. Last month he warned that he expected a 61% increase in referrals to food banks, as the license ends at the end of October and more families go through difficult times.
Pressure on the government came as Conservative-controlled councils added their names to a growing list of local authorities in England who announced they would provide medium-term food support. They included the Medway council, a unitary authority in one of the poorest parts of Kent, which went in the opposite direction to the conservative-controlled Kent County Council in saying it would provide free school meals for half the term to 6,000 children. eligible.
