The Battle Over Free School Meals: A Left Versus Right Issue, Or A Moral Dilemma?
Last week saw 322 MPs vote against a Labour motion to extend the free school meal scheme into the holidays. This decision has split social media in half, with one side simply refusing to accept the government’s decision and can’t quite believe that they are allowing children to go hungry, versus the other side who believe it is a parents responsibility to put food on the table and the government have done enough to help out during the pandemic.
With this split of opinions, comes the online trolling. Conservative MPs have spoken out about abuse they have received via online platforms such as Twitter, from people who disagree with the way that they voted.
#ToryScum was seen trending on Twitter, after MP for Ashford-under-Lyne Angela Rayner, was overheard using the slur in a commons debate on Wednesday about funding for areas on coronavirus restriction. This comment sought a reaction from Tory backbenchers. Over 100 of them grouped together to sign a letter written by MP Angela Miller addressing the hate online asking the leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, to apologise for Ms Rayners unparliamentary behaviour. She has since apologised for the language she used.
It wasn’t just MPs who were at one another’s throats either, Twitter became a stomping ground for ‘left vs right’ the week after the vote. As it seems the real issue here, feeding children from low income families, was forgotten about and the main focus became who could take the lowest blow.
Georgia Davis, 17, is a college student from North Hampshire and received free school meals whilst at secondary school. She says what the government has voted for is a disgrace.
‘I don’t think people understand what it is like to be in a low income household, it’s not a position any family wants to be in and helping out with just one meal a day can make all the difference.’
‘What really struck me was only a week before the government vote they increased their own pay check by £3,000. That’s just under £2 million helping people who already bring in £80k a year. I was infuriated.’
Suzy Horton is the local councillor in Portsmouth for children, families and education. She said the vote had opened her eyes to a level of food poverty that sadly exists in the UK today.
‘There’s just over 7 thousand children who are eligible for free school meals, and that has gone up by 1,000 since the start of the pandemic.’
‘But what’s interesting about what happened this last week is the amount of people who are not actually on free school meals but are really struggling and that’s really opened my eyes up to a level of food poverty that I really hadn’t anticipated was so acute.’
‘You always know that when something like this pandemic happens, and numbers go up obviously you get some idea about the impacts that makes on the day to day living of people. I think what’s really evident here is the impact of food poverty.’
‘I’ve spoken to so many families who are so thankful for any help because they are struggling to put food on the table.’
There is however, another side to this argument that can’t be ignored. Melanie Swan is a single parent from Hampshire and had two children using the free school meal system from 2011–2014.
‘When I was using the system I worked part time, so in the holidays I assumed that I would feed my children as they aren’t at school. That’s why I don’t understand why people want it during the holidays too.’
‘During the pandemic parents were receiving food vouchers for their children, and some were coming into the petrol station I work at and trying to purchase a bottle of wine with their sandwiches. I’m not saying that’s everyone but I witnessed it a couple of times while I was working.’
‘I believe that if they want to give children a lunch during holidays, they should not give the money to the parents. There should be somewhere where you can go and pick up your lunch so the children can actually get a sandwich bag of crisps and a drink. This way you know the help is going to the children.’
‘If you’re just handing out money to the parents in the holidays how do you know the children are going to get a meal?’
It does seem that the government won’t be taking a U-turn on this vote anytime soon, so the idea of somewhere where children can go and pick up a lunch could become the normal reality. A silver lining in all this commotion seems to be the help from the community for families during the half term. Local pubs and restaurants have grouped together to offer lunch boxes and hot meals to children, possibly removing some of the stigma that some parents feel is attached with going to use food banks and asking for more help from the government.
‘The fact that maybe in the past, people had a sense of shame or a stigma or even a sense of pride that would stop them openly asking for help beyond what they get from the state and that seems to have changed, people are openly admitting that,’ said councillor Horton.
‘This has gone way beyond free school meals, so I’m working with my colleagues around what we can do as a council to empower what has happened over half term to continue.’
