Just after I’d finished filming the above video, the government announced that it was once again U-turning. This time it was on providing Free School Meal vouchers to children that need them over the summer holidays.
We must of course pay a massive thank you to Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford for using his platform to ensure so many kids get the food they need this year.
But the point still stands, there are too many kids in the position of needing this help. We’ve got to tackle the long term causes of poverty, to make sure that the number of kids needing this provision decreases.
It also needs to be said that government shouldn’t have had to make this U-turn, it should have done the right thing from the start and made sure that kids don’t go hungry. Society as we know it exists to prevent injustices like this, and it is shameful that it took as long as it did for government to see the error in its ways.
There are over 4,500 kids in Oldham West and Royton that will benefit because of this victory. I am grateful to all involved in forcing the government’s hand on this.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 