To want everyone to know the names of the MPs who voted against feeding hungry children?

[WrongKindOfFace]

Remember Marcus Rashford and his campaign to extend free school meals? Yesterday all but a handful of Tory MPs voted against extending free school meals over the school holidays until Easter 2021. You can see if your MP is amongst them here: votes.parliament.uk/Votes/Commons/Division/896#noes

Whatever your thoughts on what parents should be doing some children are going to go hungry. Why punish the children because of the sins of the parent? And remember most people on benefits are in work.

Plus there is a bloody pandemic. We’re in unprecedented times. People who were just about managing are now on the bones of their arse.

We have billions to spaff up the wall on a useless test and trace system, or useless Ppe but we can’t feed a few hungry kids. And le’t not forget that the MPs voting against this get subsidised meals and can claim for their food on expenses.

@FourTeaFallOut I agree, and have complained to my MP and continue to support my local food bank. But the MPs don’t have to act on complaints and, judging by some of the MP responses today, they are not taking complaints seriously. From 1 Jan, the situation is going to get far far worse and I’m totally exhausted and feel helpless from it all and wish we had better people to represent us (across all parties).

I'm trying to find out whether my MP was amongst the idiots who signed that letter tweeted by Angela Milling claiming that the only reason they are getting abuse for voting against feeding starving children is that Angela Rayner called them Tory Scum. She hasn't tweeted the whole list and his name comes within the section of the alphabet that is missed out. Does anyone know where we can find out the whole list? If he did sign it, I want to let him know that we all knew he was scum well before Angela Rayner opened her mouth.

Has anyone actually had a reply from their MP? Would love to see how they justifies this.
I still haven’t heard from mine.

'that the only reason they are getting abuse for voting against feeding starving children is that Angela Rayner called them Tory Scum.'

Oh stop with the 'starving children' twaddle as if we're in a Dickens novel. A cursory Google will tell you childhood obesity is more of a problem in deprived areas.

Aren't child tax credits £64 a week for starters? Then theres UC etc. Those on low income or benefits have the financial supoort to feed their kids

Marcus Rashford is admirable but what he should be campaigning for is the restart of places like Sure Start where those on a low income can get the support and health advice needed to give their kids the correct nutrition.

You do know this wasn’t a binding vote, so effectively it was meaningless? That it was opposition showboating? That the Conservatives were whipped?

Showboating or exposing?

A cursory Google will tell you childhood obesity is more of a problem in deprived areas.

But the cheap cereals which some posters think are what the poor should live on, are laden with sugar.

@Janus

Has anyone actually had a reply from their MP? Would love to see how they justifies this. I still haven’t heard from mine.

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/politics/shipley-mp-philip-davies-defends-calling-16-year-old-girl-intolerant-virtue-signaller-email-3014048

His reply to the 16 year old.

Suprised my councillor is not there. Tory too.

@glazeover

You do know this wasn’t a binding vote, so effectively it was meaningless? That it was opposition showboating? That the Conservatives were whipped?

Yes, you're not the first to observe that on here. But such motions are intended to show the way the wind is blowing, and it seems the incarnation of the Tories that we have now won't even pretend that they give a shit about feeding impoverished children.

Obesity and food insecurity aren't distant cousins. It's not just that cheaper food is often laden with sugar and fat. People who have lived with hunger forge a completely different relationship to food than those who spend a lifetime being able to reliably open a cupboard and fill this basic need. When someone has this history of food insecurity the drive to over eat when food is available is primal and entirely logical.

From my MP

Update on Free School Meals

This week there has been a vote in Parliament on the issue of Free School Meals which I have always campaigned for, voted for and which I strongly support.

I want to reassure you that despite the headlines, the Government did not vote to end free school meals or vote against extending them to school holidays. The vote this week was specifically on the voucher system used by parents which has been plagued with problems since it was introduced earlier this year. We voted to continue providing Free School Meals but change the voucher system during school holidays to instead paying parents the money directly via their universal credit with £1000 extra a year.

The voucher system was introduced earlier in the year by the Government because children who qualified for free school meals were not getting them because their schools were closed due to COVID. So the voucher system was set up by the Government so parents could collect vouchers and use them at supermarkets in exchange for food.

Since then schools have now reopened in recent weeks and children can now access their free school meals as normal. Free Schools meals have never previously been available during school holiday but recognising the difficult times we are in the Government did continue with the voucher scheme during both the Easter and Summer holidays.

However following feedback from many parents, charities and organisations such as the Resolution Foundation we found many have been struggling with the vouchers scheme as not all supermarkets take them, not all parents have access to a major supermarket near them and there is stigma in using them too.

So as a replacement for the voucher scheme the Government introduced a £1000 a year extra UC payment , on a weekly payment basis, to cover the cost of the vouchers and pay parents direct so they could shop where they wanted. These payments started a couple of months ago and are for every week and not just school holiday weeks as was the case for the voucher scheme.

In addition we extended the number of pupils able to receive free school meals by an extra 50,000.

So this week I didn't vote to scrap free school meals , I voted to end the voucher scheme and instead support giving extra money to parents via Universal credit instead .

We voted to continue providing Free School Meals but change the voucher system during school holidays to instead paying parents the money directly via their universal credit with £1000 extra a year.

That’s utter bollocks. They were already getting that money. And it doesn’t appear that people on other benefits got an increase?

Obese kids can still suffer from hunger or is that the new fat shaming?

No, obese children still get hungry and suffer from malnutrition...

I agree with vouchers being a bad idea in some cases as it holds you to one store which may not be the most reasonably priced or cater to allergies/intolerance/dietary requirements etc

But the money added onto the UC could easily just be swallowed by overdrafts

Not sure what the best way would be but if politicians get subsidised food then kids should..

YANBU.
My own MP is on that list. This comes as no surprise, following her claims to want action over Cummings, followed the next day by a complete volte-face after Johnson had shown support for the man. Mine's the MP who asks fatuous questions in the Commons - "Does the honourable gentleman agree that the NHS staff deserve praise?", that sort of twaddle.

But what should we expect of a career politician for whom my constituency was her third choice?
Anyone who ticked the Tory box (and I have no horse in this race, I'm politically homeless) must be so proud of what they voted for.

But parents on the old style benefits didn't get a £1000 increase, what about those kids?

No Govt. will support a motion put forward by the opposition. With an 80 seat majority it was always going to fail. ILabour knew that and its only purpose was to generate an outcry. Which it has done.

Everyone on Universal credit got £80 per month which starting in April

This is new money to REPLACE free school meal VOUCHERS, extra weekly UC payments for parents who were getting the vouchers, it is paid every week including school holidays.
They only voted against keeping free school meal VOUCHERS.

I want to reassure you that despite the headlines, the Government did not vote to end free school meals or vote against extending them to school holidays. The vote this week was specifically on the voucher system used by parents which has been plagued with problems since it was introduced earlier this year. We voted to continue providing Free School Meals but change the voucher system during school holidays to instead paying parents the money directly via their universal credit with £1000 extra a year.

So as a replacement for the voucher scheme the Government introduced a £1000 a year extra UC payment, on a weekly payment basis, to cover the cost of the vouchers and pay parents direct so they could shop where they wanted These payments started a couple of months ago and are for every week and not just school holiday weeks as was the case for the voucher scheme.

How is it new money to replace the vouchers when it was introduced in April and everyone on UC gets it, not just those whose children get FSM.

The money paid from April was for all UC claimants, it had nothing to do with school meals.

The free school meals Voucher scheme has now been scraped and has been replaced with weekly payments through UC, this has just started recently.

Everyone entitled to free school meals will still get a meal or payment for a meal, paid every week including school holidays.

Labour proposed a vote to keep the free meal Voucher scheme, which everyone voted against, as the scheme was not working.

PodgeBod & PercyKirke are correct

You may be forgetting the UK benefits system is very good compared to other countries and parents do get child benefit. I am fed up of this government throwing money at everyone. We are now told up to £4 billion was claimed fraudulently. Already this generation and the next will be made to repay all of Sunak's hand outs.

Oh my fucking god.

Some children have shit parents. Some children have always had shit parents. This does not mean we should let those kids go hungry, because guess what, IT'S NOT THE KIDS' FAULT!!

@Trampslikeu

The money paid from April was for all UC claimants, it had nothing to do with school meals.

The free school meals Voucher scheme has now been scraped and has been replaced with weekly payments through UC, this has just started recently.

Everyone entitled to free school meals will still get a meal or payment for a meal, paid every week including school holidays.

Labour proposed a vote to keep the free meal Voucher scheme, which everyone voted against, as the scheme was not working.

PodgeBod & PercyKirke are correct

I can’t find any information anywhere about another extra £20 a week for UC claimants. Nothing on the gov website. www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

Would you be so kind as to post a link.