Watch Iain Duncan Smith SNEAK OUT of food banks debate as Tories LAUGH at stories of starving families

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/food-banks-debate-video-iain-2941100 (Video at link)


T was the day the Nasty Party showed its true-blue colours – by sneering at the plight of hungry families forced to rely on food banks.

Tory MPs laughed and jeered as they were told how some hard-up shoppers were so desperate they fought to snap up discounted items in supermarkets.

Astonishingly, all the Government ministers from the responsible departments – including Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith – sneaked out after just an hour of the crucial Commons debate.

By then a cowardly IDS had already ducked questions, putting forward his deputy instead.

In one of the most shameful episodes ever witnessed in Parliament, Tory backbenchers sniggered and hooted as Labour MP Fiona MacTaggart told of shocking scenes at her local Tesco in Slough, Berks, as people battled over cut-price fruit and veg.

She said the store had now been forced to draft in extra security.

Almost drowned out by mocking Tory MPs, she asked: “Isn’t that a shocking sign in the 21st century?”

Senior Labour politicians later described the Tories’ callous reaction as “shameful” and “a total disgrace”.

Labour MP Jamie Reed said: “I regret to say the laughter from the Government benches says more about this issue than words ever could.”

His colleague Barry Gardiner said it was “extraordinary” to see Mr Duncan Smith smirking as it was pointed out that half a million people are now using food banks.

And The Trussell Trust, the nation’s largest provider of food banks, said it was “disappointed” by the attitude of those who jeered.

Labour had called the debate after nearly 150,000 people signed a petition backed by the Mirror, the Unite union and The Trussell Trust calling for an inquiry into the growing dependence on food aid.

But Mr Duncan Smith refused to answer for the Government, leaving it to his deputy, Esther McVey.

And in an ill-judged speech, she sparked fury by claiming it was a good thing that more people were turning to food banks.

Incredibly she insisted: “It is positive that people are reaching out to support other people.”

She went on: “In the UK it is right that more people are going to food banks because as times are tough, we are all having to pay back this
£1.5trillion debt personally. We are all trying to live within our means, change gear and make sure that we pay back all our debt.” Labour veteran Sir Gerald Kaufman described her speech as the “nastiest” he had heard in his 43 years as an MP.

Labour’s Lilian Greenwood added: “They are the nasty party through and through. She doesn’t get it and won’t take responsibility.”

Shortly after Ms Mcvey’s performance, Mr Duncan Smith scurried from the chamber, followed by an number of other senior Tories.

Speaker John Bercow said he had no power to stop them, but said the view that it was a disgrace there was no minister there “may be widely shared”. Shadow Environment Secretary Maria Eagle said the increasing need for food banks was a damning indictment of Government policy.

She added: “Since April this year more than 500,000 people have relied on assistance from the 400 food banks run by The Trussell Trust charity, double the number of food banks compared to this time last year.” She added: “It’s a scandal which is getting worse and the Government now has the humiliation of the Red Cross helping to collect and distribute food aid in Britain for the first time since the Second World War.”

Former Labour Cabinet minister Paul Murphy told the Commons he had never seen such poverty in his 40 years as a Welsh politician, apart from during the 1984 Miners’ Strike.

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Rachel Reeves told the House: “It’s a tale of two nations – tax cuts for the rich, food banks for the poor.”

Not all Tories joined in the mocking and jeering.

Wycombe MP Steve Baker gave an emotional speech in support of food banks as he revealed how poverty had caused the break-up of his family when he was a child.

He said there was no one to help when his self-employed dad ran out of work. They had to go hungry and his parents eventually split up.

He blamed the current plight of hard-up families on politicians pretending there is a “magic wand” to solve the problem.

Mr Baker said 12,000 children in Buckinghamshire were currently living in poverty, with one in five in his constituency going to bed hungry, rising to one in three in some areas.

He added: “It is a scandalous indictment of the safety net that is the welfare state.”

But Tory and Lib Dem MPs banded together to defeat Labour’s motion, calling on the Government to reduce dependency on food banks, by 294 votes to 251, a majority of 43.

Food banks give a minimum of three days’ emergency food to people facing crisis in the UK.

People are referred by care professionals though a voucher system to ensure only genuine cases receive help.

Vouchers are also held by Jobcentre Plus for emergency distribution.

Each food bank is run in partnership with a local church or community. All food is donated by the public.



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     Disgraceful Tory bastards.

lol shoppers at a Tesco in Slough.


Hmmm if they went and shopped at Aldi or Lidl they'd get them for that cut price anyway.

Also, Tesco have now hired extra security staff - why don't they just reduce all of their prices instead of spending £tens of thousands on security?

IDS, biggest coward in Parliament, runs out like a scared jackrabbit whenever there is a case to answer. Disgusting man.

You read that OP and you realise why they are called the 'nasty party'.

What a disgusting shower of people they are in shouting down people who are speaking up for those in need. This is the new Tory plan - to shout and bawl from the government benches and drown out the opposition. It's been obvious for a week or two now.

The bastards LAUGHING at people hungry. Fuckers!

Sassy wrote:IDS, biggest coward in Parliament, runs out like a scared jackrabbit whenever there is a case to answer.  Disgusting man.

When's the next reshuffle as that will be very interesting.

Irn Bru wrote:You read that OP and you realise why they are called the 'nasty party'.

What a disgusting shower of people they are in shouting down people who are speaking up for those in need. This is the new Tory plan - to shout and bawl from the government benches and drown out the opposition. It's been obvious for a week or two now.

They are beyond contempt the lot of them.   

I hadn't realised that they actually laughed when they were told about the people who were having to use the food banks. That should be televised and repeated over and over and over again, just so that it sinks in what a load of disgusting parasites they are.

Sisters Jade and Jasmine Clarke have written an open letter asking the smirking Work and Pensions Secretary to take poverty and hunger in Britain seriously



Iain Duncan Smith sparked outrage this week when he sneaked out of a vital Commons debate on the growing need for foodbanks to feed hungry families.

The Tory welfare chief left it to his junior minister Esther McVey to speak before both missed out on a series of impassioned and highly charged responses from MPs.

Labour’s Luciana Berger warned: “Figures this week show an increase in diseases such as scurvy and rickets.”

Her colleague Julie Hilling added: “It’s an absolute disgrace we have to have foodbanks in the sixth richest country in the world.”

Jade Clarke, 14, and sister Jasmine, 12, of Salisbury, Wilts, this month urged readers to back our Give Our Kids a Christmas appeal. Here, they write to IDS and call on him to act on food poverty...






Sneak: Iain Duncan Smith leaves the foodbank debate
BBC
Dear Mr Duncan Smith,
On Wednesday our family went to the House of Commons to listen to the debate on foodbanks.

We were disappointed you left early, because you missed MPs telling some really sad stories about people going hungry across the country.

We know what it’s like to not have enough food at Christmas – we’ve been there.

Even though Dad was working really hard, him and Mum weren’t eating dinner so there would be enough for us. Mum said we weren’t going to get any presents last Christmas Day – and that we’d have beans on toast for Christmas dinner.

All our friends at school were looking forward to Christmas but for us it would just be a normal day with hardly anything to eat. It was really upsetting. We felt like outsiders.

We were so lucky on Christmas Eve – a food box from The Trussell Trust turned up at our house. It saved our Christmas and meant that we could have a proper meal


      

Smug: IDS smirks while his deputy Esther McVey defends the Government
BBC
Now things are getting a bit better. But we heard that 20,000 kids like us will need feeding this Christmas by The Trussell Trust – which has already given food to 500,000 people since April.

This year we’ve been volunteering at foodbanks, because we want to help people have a normal Christmas, too.

The past couple of weeks have been amazing. More than 140,000 people signed a petition in under a week. And the Mirror and Unite Christmas Appeal has raised over £75,000.

It’s nice to know ordinary people care. I’m sure you must care, too – and you must have heard about ­foodbanks in your area. Last Christ­­­mas was a really hard time for our family – and we don’t want to see other kids in the same place next year.

So we’re asking if you’ll make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to meet the Trussell Trust and its clients, to talk to them about food poverty and what can be done about it.

Happy Christmas, Jade and Jasmine



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Good for them, he won't read it though, wouldn't want something to dent his conscience, would he?

Sassy wrote:Good for them, he won't read it though, wouldn't want something to dent his conscience, would he?

Someone should wipe that smug smile off his face.   

Can I volunteer? LOL

A few weeks ago I started a petition to get Parliament to debate hunger in the UK and why there's been a rise in the use of foodbanks. I thought I'd work steadily towards 100,000 signers over a few months and aim for a debate by Spring. How wrong was I?!
Within a day more than 60,000 people had signed and the campaign made the frontpage of the Independent. Within two weeks you helped the campaign reach 142,000 signers and on Wednesday we secured our goal of a debate in Parliament.
People going hungry in the UK has been a quiet secret for too long now, often only seen by the volunteers dealing with an increasing number of families turning to foodbanks. This petition changed that: #Foodbanks was trending on Twitter, the campaign reached the newspaper frontpages -- and most importantly MPs sat for three hours and heard story after story of what it is like to struggle in modern Britain.
Over 60 Labour MPs requested to speak at the debate and they took turns to tell the stories of their constituents. We heard about the ex-serviceman who turned to a foodbank while waiting for four weeks for Atos to deal with his appeal. The story of two hungry young boys who came to ask for one packet of cereal and one packet of drinking chocolate as a treat. And we heard of the man whose benefits were sanctioned when he couldn't attend an assessment interview because he was in hospital with his wife who was seriously ill with cancer.
Unfortunately Government ministers held their party line. Esther McVey said: "it is right to say that more people are visiting foodbanks, as we would expect.” And while Iain Duncan Smith turned up for the debate -- a victory in itself -- he chose not to stick around and snuck out half way through.
We should be proud of what we achieved through this petition. MPs were reminded of the people that they are there to represent. And while some of them might try to drown out the stories with jeers and laughter -- these stories are now out in the open for all to see. They are on the official Hansard record and can't be ignored any longer.
This debate is just the start - we'll be back in the New Year fighting food poverty - because hunger isn't going to go away. If your MP is one of the shameful 296 who voted against the motion to investigate foodbank use - why not invite them to go along with you to visit a Trussell Trust foodbank in the new year.
There are lots of other ways you can get involved to help foodbanks in your area -- check out The Mirror who have been backing this campaign for more details.
Thank you, well done and Happy Christmas!
Jack Monroe
@msjackmonroe




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   Who ever said that people power and social media was never able to get things moving!

If nothing else, the picture of IDS laughing at people suffering will be etched in memories.

Sassy wrote:If nothing else, the picture of IDS laughing at people suffering will be etched in memories.

YES!....And that should be a prominent feature during the 2015 Labour election campaign, time to put some clear water between the two parties IMO.

Good idea.

Sassy wrote:Good idea.

They should be speaking out against them now though in reality.   

They should be shouting from the rooftops. Doing my best in this neck of the woods.

Sassy wrote:They should be shouting from the rooftops.   Doing my best in this neck of the woods.

We have been converted to the noble cause in this area for so many years now!  :D 

Just started working with them. Pushing real hard.

Sassy wrote:Just started working with them.   Pushing real hard.

  

The number of people predicted to turn to food banks in Britain next year rather than starve could reach a million, a charity has told Sky News.

Since April this year more than half a million people living on the bread-line had to be referred for food aid by social workers or a doctor in order to feed themselves or their families.

And the rise in the number of people sinking deeper into poverty will mean more food banks will have to open across the country in 2014, according to the Chairman of the Trussell Trust Chris Mould.

Speaking exclusively to Sky News he said: "With earnings rising at less than 1% and social security support capped at 1% whilst the cost of living is rising three times as fast, the reality for millions of people in the UK will be an even tougher year than the one they've just been through.



"Sadly that means many more people will be referred to food banks in 2014 than in 2013. In fact by this time next year we could well be talking about how Trussell Trust food banks have helped a million people in just one year alone."

The stark warning comes as new figures from the think-tank the New Economics Foundation reveal living standards in Britain have seen the biggest drop since the Victorian age.

Low and middle earners are suffering an unprecedented squeeze on their incomes as austerity measures continue to bite, with women and part-time workers disproportionately affected.

And food banks are seeing a three-fold increase in demand, according to Mr Mould.

"We've launched over 400 food banks since 2004. I expect the Trussell Trust network to grow by a further 100 food banks during 2014. There are still areas of the country where people in financial crisis are unable to get help easily from a local Trussell Trust food bank and we are working hard towards a goal where no one in the UK needs to go hungry."



Gayle Needham wil be relying on handouts to make it through Christmas
Mother-of-five Gayle Needham, 34, from Barnsely, south Yorkshire, is going hungry. She has had to visit her local food bank three times in just under a month. Her partner recently lost his job and they are facing a delay in benefits payments.

"I think we are basically what you call scraping the barrel. We are right at the bottom. We have faced a day where we probably have two tins of beans and a loaf of bread and that's it.

"It's either food bank or nothing. It makes me feel that I've failed as a mum. I'm not bothered about me or my partner, but if you can't provide for your kids, what kind of parent are you?"

Gayle is one of 13 million people in Britain today who are living in poverty as classified by the Government. Her five children will receive presents their parents collected from an online giveaway site. There will be no Turkey because they cannot afford the electricity to cook it.

"I'm not looking forward to Christmas - I'm really not. I know it's going to be devastating. I know they (the children) haven't got half as much as they want.

"We pray for a miracle but we all know we're not going to get one."

http://news.sky.com/story/1185639/food-banks-will-help-one-million-in-2014

Saw that news report on and video on Sky and great that they have finally picked up on this, they have acknowledged that things are only going to get worse with the freeze on benefits for three years..More people will be dying before too long..A cull on poor pensioners in fuel poverty this winter is just the start......