Marcus puts our government to shame
YOU don’t have to be a Manchester United fan to admire the impact footballer Marcus Rashford made this week when he flagged up the number of children who risk going hungry this summer when vouchers in lieu of free school meals were due to end.
In many ways, it’s shameful that it has taken a professional sportsman to raise this and get action - and even more shameful that our government initially rejected the calls for support.
The calls for reassurance from some Tory MPs vouchers will be spent on food, and not cigarettes and alcohol, speaks to a classist mentality towards anyone who requires support from the state.
It’s disappointing our local MP, Jake Berry, wasn’t leading from the front here. Across Rossendale, there are 1,743 children known to eligible for free school meals, according to Government data.
This data pre-dates the Coronavirus crisis, which has led to many seeing their incomes dramatically reduce, with grim predictions of huge swathes of unemployment to follow as the furlough scheme ends.
It shouldn’t take a footballer to be championing the cause of hungry children in our constituency. Too often, it’s taken as a symbol of civic pride that we have people donating to foodbanks here in Rossendale.
Of course, it’s great people want to help.
But even better would be our local Conservatives coming good on their promise of December 2019 to ‘level up the North.’
Proactively fighting to ensure no child goes hungry this summer would have been a pretty basic place to start.