Alex Hern reports on Edwina Curries shocking comments on poverty in Britain
Disgraced former Conservative minister Edwina Currie continues to insist that no one in the UK is ever starving, even after spending three hours last night in a food bank in Birmingham being told just that.
The event was held in response to comments made by Currie on Radio 5 last month.
At the time, Currie said:
“Are you telling me people in this country are going hungry? Seriously? Seriously? Do you know, I really have great difficulty believing that.”
“I don’t think people in this country go hungry. But are these people at the same time maybe buying the odd lottery ticket? Do they just occasionally have the odd cigarette? Somewhere along the line does food come as the first priority?”
The public-and-panel event arranged this night was largely three hours of Currie, famous for destroying the British egg market, sleeping with John Major, and saying that “good Christians” wouldn’t get aids, arguing with people in poverty about whether they were in poverty. You can listen to the whole debate here.
One highlight, however, was blogger and author Owen Jones, who took Currie to task throughout the night; Jones’s opening comments are embedded below, and are well worth listening to:
The case of Mark and Helen Mullins is indeed a tragedy; they recorded a video earlier this year, explaining the troubles they were having, and it makes for difficult viewing:
Edwina Currie claims she knows about the Mullins. If she does, and insists in perpetuating her lies, she is more than just humorously out of touch; she is actively contributing to a repetition of their tragedy.
See also:
• We need a new approach to tackling fuel poverty – Matthew Lockwood, November 9th 2011
• The coalition is actively increasing child poverty – Felicity Dennistoun, October 11th 2011
• ESA cuts will exacerbate poverty and remove help for disabled – Neil Coyle, March 8th 2011
• All in the family? Putting intergenerational poverty into perspective – Declan Gaffney, April 8th 2011
• Warnings of generation lost to poverty – Ed Jacobs, February 23rd 2011
83 Responses to “Currie v Jones: Do people go hungry in Britain?”
Jayneclarke
Thank goodness someone from the political world has at last got the courage to say what a large proportion of the population think.
Being born in the 50s I never considered myself living in poverty but I didn’t have holidays clothes etc. My school uniform basically was my wardrobe. You had one pair of shoes and when I had to have a sports t-shirt at the age of 11 my parents, like many others in my class, paid for it over several weeks – it cost the equivalent today of 75p. You were not obese because there was no food in the cupboards for you to snack on.
My mother had a far tougher life being motherless at the age of 2 and with 6 siblings. She was brought up by her grandmother then her aunt. Today they would have money thrown at them in those days you got on with it. Today she is 86 living modesty on her basic state pension for which she worked until she was 62. She will not accept carers allowance etc because she feels she is not entitled to it.
Chris
I am 100% agree with Edwina. I am one of the silent millions, working very hard long hours in a job that numbs my brain, simply to feed my family and keep a roof over our heads. I am sick of people choosing not to work and playing the system because they can find a job that they find exciting! I am paying for their food, I am paying for they accommodation, I am paying for their sky TV, I am paying for their DFS sofa, I am paying for everything in their lives! WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Britain is a wonderful country, and I am proud and lucky to be born here, but the country is overrun with feckless, lazy people who expect everything and give nothing. The welfare system is a safety net that I wouldn’t remove for anything, it what make our country so special, but it’s being used as a life style. THIS HAS TO STOP! There are children growing up today that have never known their parents and grandparent to work, what ambition or work ethic will they have.
There was once only 3 classes in society, Upper, Middle and Working Class. There are now four, Upper, Middle, Working, and Under Class. Also once, people tried to better themselves, but the people languishing in the Underclass seem happy to be there and why not, they don’t have to do anything to remain there! And maybe they’ll win the lottery (with a ticket that I have bought!) or get spotted on X-Factor!
When will we stop protesting about bankers, or fixating about immigrants, and asylum seekers, and focus on the real issue, the elephant in the room, the lazy blood sucking Underclass.
Let’s reform the welfare system, give less to the lazy, more to the people how need it like carers, people with disabilities, the sick and the old. Let’s put the welfare system back to it was designed for, WELFARE for the needy!
jb
RT @leftfootfwd: Currie v Jones: Do people go hungry in Britain? http://t.co/z1qmkqbK
David Freeman
I agree with Edwina Currie, I worked all my life with a short break of two months when I had to claim income support, and yes I was financially better off on benefit (this was mid 90’s) but my pride, work ethic and ambition ensured this was not the case. I now run my own successful business.
I am sick of paying for people to not work, having the widescreen TV’s, Sky, mobile etc. The woman on the 6 o’clock show yesterday whom Edwina Currie challenged epitomised the type “I do not want to do a job I don’t like” “I do not want to be unhappy”
I was unhappy when I was on benefit all those years ago, and I have done jobs I detest where the boss treats you like a second class citizen but I did it, for my family, my pride and myself. And yes I am now successful earning 100k + per year with all that brings, so when is this welfare debacle veer going to end. Caveat yes i know there are genuine cases, but these genuine cases generally do not seek to publicise their plight through pride.
Mr Roshan
The bankers doubled the national debt. The money they have been given, they are not lending out due to the ‘off the sheet’ debts such as credit derivatives, which occur essentially because the banks can take £1(off other people’s money) and leverage it many times over.
Furthermore, with banks consisting of rich people, giving them welfare is even more reprehensible than giving the ‘poor’.
Take a lesson from Iceland, that did not bail out it’s bankers, jailed them and are now out of recession.
Watch the film (search on google) ‘Money as debt’, watch the Keiser Report (on youtube).
Yes, I don’t believe in welfare and think the welfare state creates dependents (this is statistically beyond doubt). Yes, I think Owen Jones cherry picks little anecdotes and mistakes these for facts and statistics, but don’t ever not blame the banks for stealing your money to gamble, then teaming up with their buddies in government (crony capitalism) so that BOTH of them take even more of your money.
Please consider the above.