Marcus Rashford letter

There’s no hope is there? suziewoozie, some days I despair, seriously. People have no idea.

I was the 6th child of 7 children. I’m sure my mum and dad loved each other, in the 1950s they had 6 children and 8 years later my sister. The second child had a severe learning disability, eventually my dad became an alcoholic, drank most of what he earned. My mum took on several jobs leaving the older child to look after the rest of us. We scrapped by on a pittance. Was it my fault to be born into this poverty? Apart from good, poor clothing meant we were always cold and I remember having an old army coat as a blanket on my bed. My mum did her very best in dire circumstances.
50 or so years later, we’ve all worked all our lives, fortunate in the fact I guess that we got a goodish education, we’ve all paid taxes and been good citizens of the society in which we live.
I remember being hungry and it was horrible to get home from school and be lucky if there was a bit of bread and margarine and then put sugar on top. There were times we had plentiful potatoes because mum would take us tattie picking in the holidays. Things have changed and children regardless of their circumstances coming into this world deserve at the very least to be fed, but not just fed, but clothed and warmed. I am also a great believer in that children should be able to have the norms of the era in which they live. So basics, hot water, a tv, a place to feel safe. Alas, there is so much lacking now for the most deprived, there is no replacement for good parenting, but in the absence of that then it is up to the rest of society to look out for those children and provide in whatever way they can. So whether parents smoke, paint their nails, gamble, drink, whatever that is and children fall through the safety net that is meant to be there, what they need more than anything is compassion.
MR is brilliant, the government however is not.

Marketkat , thank you for your post. It is the children who matter.
Why , therefore did the government not put a strategy in place after the summer climb down ? They knew that the virus could come back strongly in the Autumn causing lockdowns , closure of businesses , redundancies. Surely forward planning is something they could and should have been doing. But time and time again we see lacking of real planning. It's all last minute. Did no one in the government think after the Summer what about half term, Christmas, we had do do an about turn what can we do now to prevent that. etc, etc.That is what you get when people are appointed out of their depth, just because they are yes men.
I see Johnson didn't even reply to Marcus Rashford's letter
he sent in September asking for free school meals to continue in half term and Christmas .

Couldn’t agree with you more Westendgirl. I wrote on another post that the government shot themselves in the foot on this one. Regardless of how much money they put into the system if they don’t show compassion, but try to hide their bigoted Stance wrapped up in rhetoric they will always be on the back foot, (Most) people can see right through their tactics of divide and rule. As usual, they show they are not as clever as they think they are, a bit more forethought and they could have avoided this whole situation, but as I say I think it is primarily what they want, easier to stay in power if the country is at odds with each other. Phew, glad I got that off my chest!

The Expenses of the 300+ MPs Who Voted Against Free School Meals for Children – Dorset Eye

This Is How Much They Have Claimed in Expenses in the Last Year

322 MPs have recently voted against free meals for children in dire circumstances.

These MPs have believe that poor children are not entitled to free meals, whilst simultaneously claiming tens of thousands in expenses each year. This site allows you to find out if your MP has voted against this motion, as well as how much they have claimed for themselves. Starts off with MP
Kevin Hollinrake Expences claimed 19/20 £88,197.05

dorseteye.com/the-expenses-of-the-300-mps-who/

Jeremy Hunt has not got a leg to stand on over this. Why does he not stand up and support children and condemn the government? He is not worth approximately 14 million pounds for nothing. Too busy on the freebies.

I’m trying to think of the benefit of not giving food to a hungry child.

Whatever parents have/haven’t done is not the fault of the child and in any case the vast majority of parents are responsible and care for their children lovingly.

Some parents won’t be ideal parents, it’s true, but it was ever thus, and it’s our duty to be a safety net for those children who are in need.

I think it’s good that Boris is about to ‘U’ turn on this. Covid has struck some families very hard and an extra burden must be that some children as a consequence are missing their free hot dinner at school. Fair enough.

That said I hope it’s done in such a way that vouchers (or whatever) can’t be sold down the pub for cash.

And the elephant in the room as far as I’m concerned, is where are the dads in some ‘families’?

Why did Rashford’s mum have to work her socks off doing 3 part time jobs to feed her 3 children? Where was the father? Or fathers plural? And if split up, where was his/their financial support for the kids? What kind of a man just bu*gers off?

By the way it’s called food technology these days. In my day it was Cookery Lessons. Very good they were too.

Food Technology?? What piffle!

‘And the elephant in the room as far as I’m concerned, is where are the dads in some ‘families’? ‘

He’s in No 10 Downing Street and it’s a bit mean to call him an elephant, he says he’s lost 2 stone.

Very witty swbut not quite the right analogy as I hear Boris is at his wit’s end coming up with enough dosh to support his many children.

Big difference.
?

Support his many children? what’s the evidence for that? Pay off the ex wives and mistresses with gagging orders more like.

Whatever, vegansrock.

Back then to Rashford’s dad ... ??
?

Being a father is about so much more than throwing money at your children and certainly has nothing do with going to court to stop their existence being made known .

Just stop it Urm about his father - have you any idea how this is coming across? WTAF has his father to do with the issue here? He was brought up by a good mother against all odds and is a young man that represents hope in our society at a time when it’s in short supply.
Your comment about vouchers and the pub is also lazy stereotyping that I won’t even dignify with a response other than are you Ben Bradley’s mother?

Seems I’ve touched a nerve?
Sorry but I think it is relevant - taxpayers seem to be ‘dad’ these days. Why is this acceptable behaviour?

I’ve already said giving a child a hot school dinner is important.

But that doesn’t negate an underlying problem in some families does it?

Dads need to take responsibility too! What’s wrong with saying that?

Men who dont take responsibility for their children are arseholes and I mean responsibility in the widest sense,not just financial, the way to tackle this is to stop demonising single mothers (which still happens) and to support those children to gain education and security(i.e feed them as a bare bloody minimum). My guess is marcus rashford will be an excellent father partly because he was given support.

Susiewoozie spot on it's often thought of as poor families alone who are in this predicament .

urmstongran that is a concern but in these times I would turn concern equally to the point raised by grany - excellent point grany one that the media could turn to again if they were inclined to . Plus if the government were to spend time thinking things through properly it could be handled in a much better way

Urmstongran

Whatever, vegansrock.

Back then to Rashford’s dad ... ??
?

It wasn’t generic dads you were having a go at - do keep up and at least RYOP

Well Urmstongran my dad bug*ered off leaving my Mum with 3 young children; despite him paying her child maintenance and my poor Mum having 3 part-time low paid jobs, she still struggled to make ends meet. So even if dads are contributing, it can still mean families struggle; indeed, many families with both parents employed (in low-paid jobs) can find it hard to provide even the basics in life for their families.

I’ve just read that list of MPs who have voted to deprive hungry children of food.
I see Scottish Conservatives have voted on something that is of no concern of theirs.
At least the SNP are ethical in refusing to vote on non-Scottish matters.

Regarding absent fathers and victim blaming, to paraphrase the woman in the march a wee while ago:

"I can't believe we still have to argue against this s**t"

Curlywhirly

Well Urmstongran my dad bug*ered off leaving my Mum with 3 young children; despite him paying her child maintenance and my poor Mum having 3 part-time low paid jobs, she still struggled to make ends meet. So even if dads are contributing, it can still mean families struggle; indeed, many families with both parents employed (in low-paid jobs) can find it hard to provide even the basics in life for their families.

Well no doubt Urm will have comments to make on how many actual fathers there were involved in producing you and your siblings and that discussions of any achievements of any of you had to involve a discussion of your dad/s.

Well Suziewoozie for the record Urmstongran might like to know that despite us all having the same dad we still struggled where money was concerned! ?

Your family isn’t every family though is it CurlyW?

Look, I’m not saying these children don’t need a square meal and if it has to be on the State, so be it. I’m disgusted MP’s have the luxury of subsidised meals when they earn £85k p.a. too! But I am saying some dads need to step up.

I'm put in mind of the Monty Python sketch Ug. What have the Romans ever done for us?

OK, you're right about this, and that, and this other thing, but here's this one tiny irrelevant example that I can cling to for dear life.....