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City MP blasts government’s “shameful record” and urges PM to end Child Food Poverty

By 10 September 2021No Comments

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan has urged the Prime Minister to take real action to end Child Food Poverty.

The letter from the Labour MP follows the government’s decision to cancel a Parliamentary vote on the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit, due to take effect in October, as well as ongoing campaigning efforts from footballer Marcus Rashford.

Mr Morgan blasts the Conservative government’s “shameful record” record on the issue, saying: “700,000 children have been pushed into poverty – on average, that’s 9 kids in a class of 30. According to the Food Foundation, 2.5 million children experienced food insecurity between February and July 2021.”

The letter demands the “bold action necessary to ensure no child goes hungry in the UK,” including implementing Labour’s call for school breakfast clubs and reversing the planned cut to Universal Credit.

In the Portsmouth representative’s constituency alone, 5,550 families will be affected by the cut, including 6,907 children.

The Government had originally planned to implement the cut in April 2021 but were forced to change course after the Official Opposition successfully won a vote in House of Commons in January.

Labour had planned to force a vote on the issue in the Commons this week (Wednesday 8 September) but this was cancelled by the government.

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:

“Child Food Poverty has no place in our society, yet under this Conservative government it is becoming increasingly prevalent.

“The Chancellor’s planned cut to Universal Credit and repeated tax rises are having a real impact on household incomes. Families are increasingly forced to make impossible choices about their fundamental needs.

“Parents will be doing all they can, but too often children are bearing the brunt of food poverty, limiting their development and life chances.

“I have written to the Prime Minister urging him to take real and long-overdue action on this issue and will continue to raise this issue in Parliament and engage with local groups taking practical action.