Viciously trolled ...for daring to suggest poor shouldn’t have large families
A TORY MSP who said benefits claimants ‘cannot have as many children as they like’ has been bombarded with abuse by online trolls.
Members of her family have even quit social media over the row.
Michelle Ballantyne said she had received hundreds of abusive messages on Twitter.
The South Scotland MSP added that one of her six children has closed his online accounts, while another had a row with their partner over her comments.
In a revealing interview, Mrs Ballantyne spoke of the sacrifices she had made to have a large family, such as giving up holidays and even struggling to put food on the table for her children.
On Wednesday she said it was ‘fair’ to place a cap on family size for those claiming benefits as those in employment were often forced to make tough decisions in an effort to ‘pay their way’.
The comments sparked a furious backlash from opponents at Holyrood, including Tom Arthur and Kezia Dugdale, with hundreds of people taking to social media to attack her over the remarks.
Mrs Ballantyne, 55, has refused to apologise but admits she could have expressed herself better.
Yesterday, she said a lot of the abuse had stemmed from the reaction of politicians, adding: ‘The Scottish Government is lambasting me. Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions attacked me personally.’
Of the effect on her children, Mrs Ballantyne said: ‘One of my sons was really quite upset by it and switched off his social media Because clearly a lot of what was being said wasn’t true.’
The MSP has three children in their thirties, two in their twenties
‘This is about being fair’
and a teenager. She has asked that they are not named.
Mrs Ballantyne disclosed that she previously worked night shifts as a nurse on £25,000 a year as the main breadwinner in her family.
She said her children had to share toys and had gone years without holidays or even a TV, but she did not consider herself poor.
She added: ‘When we were hav- ing the children we had very little income. We started a manufacturing company, my husband was focusing on doing that and I was the breadwinner. I had to earn a living to feed us and keep us.
‘I suppose it was hard, but it didn’t feel hard. It just is your life. We didn’t have lots of money, but poor is a relative term. I always felt our house was rich in its life.
‘The children were very good at sharing, we walked a lot, went in the hills, paddled in the rivers, did all the things you can do that don’t cost lots of money but are what makes your memories. I would never say we were poor, but we certainly weren’t rich.
‘I have been there, wondering how I’m going to get food for the table. I know just how tough it is. That’s why I think we need to get it right.’
Asked about grandchildren, she said: ‘Ironically, the children would probably tell you they couldn’t afford to. Like most young people, they are struggling to have families.’
Mrs Ballantyne said she is ready to debate the welfare system and see what changes, if any, can be made. She believes limiting tax credits and Universal Credit to a family’s first two children is necessary.
She said: ‘I want to debate these points about how you address inequality. Clearly, you have to have some constraints in the system.
‘I, like most rational people, am more than willing to hear if there are better solutions. If there is genuine evidence a two-child cap is wrong, let’s talk about it. Should it be three, should it be one?’
As well as the abuse, Mrs Ballantyne said she had also received backing, adding: ‘There is a lot of support for it. This is about being fair. There is a push to paint it as a vendetta against poor people, that I want people with children to be put into hardship. Clearly, that’s just patently untrue.’