*Tory ministers have been condemned for not taking the plight Britain’s poor seriously after a rowdy Commons debate on food banks during which the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith refused to answer questions and left early.
As Fiona MacTaggart, the Labour MP for Slough, described how people battled over end of day bargains in her local Tesco, she was almost drowned out by laughter and jeering from the government benches.
—-
Barry Gardiner, Labour MP for Brent said it was “extraordinary” to see Mr Duncan Smith smirking as it was pointed out that half a million people are now using food banks - and the minister refused to answer any questions directly, instead leaving them to be fielded by his deputy, Esther McVey.
The Trussell Trust, the nation’s largest provider of food banks, with almost 400 branches said it was “disappointed” by the attitude of those who jeered.
Labour had called the debate after nearly 150,000 people signed a petition backed by The Mirror, the Unite union and The Trussell Trust calling for an inquiry into the growing dependence on food aid.
Ms McVey said it was a good thing that more people were turning to food banks and that Germany and Canada had also seen a rise in their use.
The Tory MP for Wirral West said: “It is positive that people are reaching out to support other people - from church groups to community groups, to local supermarkets and other groups.”
She went on to try to pin the blame on spiralling food bank use on the Labour party.
“In the UK it is right that more people are… going to food banks because as times are tough, we are all having to pay back this £1.5 trillion debt personally which spiralled under Labour, we are all trying to live within our means, change the gear and make sure that we pay back all our debt which happened under them.”
Loading comments...