MP criticised over school meal comments
WESTON- super- Mare’s Conervative MP John Penrose has made scathing comments about the use of school breakfast clubs – in a letter to a constituent.
Mr Penrose, first elected to represent the seaside resort in 2005, made the comments in his reply to a constituent who contacted him asking why he voted against extending free school meals for hungry kids in the holidays – a campaign led by footballer Marcus Rashford.
The UK government extended free school meals to eligible children during the Easter holidays earlier this year and, after a highprofile campaign by Rashford, did the same for the summer holiday.
But it has so far refused to extend the scheme further saying it had already given money to councils in England to support families and had also increased welfare benefits.
Mr Penrose, married to coronavirus Test and Trace chief Dido Harding, was amongst those to vote against the extension of the scheme, used by millions of struggling families during the Government imposed lockdown.
In his letter to the constituent, which has been made public, Mr Penrose took a swipe at “chaotic parents” who send their children “to school without breakfast so they can’t concentrate properly”.
Mr Penrose’s reply, which was posted on Twitter, he added that such schemes were “sticking plaster solutions” which “increase dependency”
He also added that the schools meal project was not the right long term answer to tackling child poverty.
He added: “Practical measures which make a genuine difference to the causes of poverty include things like the Pupil Premium, which gives schools extra funding for disadvantaged pupils; breakfast clubs, which help children with chaotic parents who send them to school without breakfast so they can’t concentrate properly”.
In his letter Mr Penrose, 56, added: “Handing out more benefits and tax credits increases dependency and does not necessarily improve life chances.
“It is a sticking plaster solution which treats the symptoms of the problem rather than the cause.
“The best route out of poverty is to improve work incentives and ensure people have the skills and opportunities to move into employment.”
The comments come after a fellow backbench Tory MP, Ben Bradley, last week triggered fury by linking free school meals with “crack dens” and “brothels”, reports the Mirror Online.
Speaking about Mr Penrose’s remarks, Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: “It is completely unacceptable for a Conservative MP to blame parents for the challenges created by his own Government’s chronic incompetence.
“Children are at risk of going hungry because of a decade of stagnant wages and cuts to social security.
“Not only have the Conservatives
The best route out of poverty is to improve work incentives and ensure people have the skills and opportunities to move into employment MP John Penrose
voted against helping these children, they are now blaming their parents.
“It is not too late to do the right thing and extend free school meals over Christmas.”
Challenged about his comments, Mr Penrose told the Mirror Online: “I’m afraid this says more about the silly anti-Tory prejudices of a couple of local Labour activists than about what’s really in my letter, which is clearly about how breakfast clubs can be a valuable way of dealing with one of the causes of poverty, not about everybody else who uses breakfast clubs too.”
The letter comes at the same time as people staged an ‘Empty Place Protest’ at Weston’s Conservative Club in response to Weston’s MP John Penrose voting against the extension of the free school meals in holidays.
Empty plates were stuck over the building and laid outside with protesters also leaving donations of items for the town’s foodbank.
MP Mr Penrose has been married to Conservative peer Baroness Harding – a former chief executive of the TalkTalk Group – for 25 years.