Why Rashford merits respect

Child hunger: Coffey’s own goal

THE GOVERNMENT’S thankless task is confirmed by the latest jobs data as the economic toll of the Covid-19 pandemic is added to this human catastrophe. Not even the recession in the early 1980s saw 600,000 people lose their jobs in a single month.

In fairness, the swift response Chancellor Rishi Sunak has spared many families considerable hardship. But, as social inequalities grow, this has been overshadowed by the Government’s avoidable own goal over footballer Marcus Rashford’s food poverty campaign.

The background is this. At the start of the lockdown, Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged top footballers to take a pay cut without appreciating their contribution to the NHS and charities. Rashford, alone, has raised up to £20m for the charity FareShare – he grew up in poverty and has never forgotten that he, too, was the recipient of free school meals. It prompted the Manchester United and England striker’s heartfelt call for provision of these meals to continue in the summer holidays.

A sincere request, he then asked his 2.7 million social media followers to think of those hard-up families whose water had been cut off in lockdown, prompting Dr Thérèse Coffey, the Work and Pensions Secretary, to tweet: “Water cannot be disconnected, though.”

Her first noteworthy contribution to the Government’s pandemic response, she was factually correct but her tone was tactless and heartless given that she is in charge of welfare policy. No wonder the Government then confirmed that there would be a Covid Summer Food Fund – a welcome U-turn.

But the damage has been done. For, rather than appearing to shun Rashford who knows far more about deprivation than most MPs, Ministers should have be welcoming his interest, and working with him and others, so no child grows up in child poverty – whatever the circumstances. That still remains the ultimate goal.