Currie v Jones: Do people go hungry in Britain?

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:

Owen Jones (mp3)

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 povertyMatthew Lockwood, November 9th 2011

The coalition is actively increasing child povertyFelicity Dennistoun, October 11th 2011

ESA cuts will exacerbate poverty and remove help for disabledNeil Coyle, March 8th 2011

All in the family? Putting intergenerational poverty into perspectiveDeclan Gaffney, April 8th 2011

Warnings of generation lost to povertyEd Jacobs, February 23rd 2011

83 Responses to “Currie v Jones: Do people go hungry in Britain?”

  1. Trudi

    I agree with Edwina. I would not say that no one is starving, there are some people out there who probably are in real difficulty. But, most people do not understand the concept of if you can’t afford it you can’t buy it. The report on the one show is a prime example of everyone spending too much money as they don’t want to be different to everyone else.

    When I was growing up (and I am only 37 so this was the 80’s), my mum stayed at home to look after me and my brother, my dad worked. The majority of our clothes, toys and books came from Jumble sales, we went through a period of not having a TV and we never had a car. We were never hungry, because sacrifices were made to put food on the table. If we wanted something we saved our pocket money for it.

    I was bought up to consider my self lucky, to be thankful for what we had and to be careful with money. I work hard, but I have no debts and I was proud this year that my husband saved enough money to buy a second hand car without having to get a loan.

    I don’t believe the family in the one show should’ve being going to the food bank, someone should work with people to show them how to budget properly and how to manage their money. They might be embarrassed to not keep up with everyone else but if you can’t afford it that’s the just the way it is.

    I think that children need to be brought up with a work ethic. If you don’t like your job, work in it until you find a better one you do like. Have some ambition to better yourself and better yourself. There are people in the world who are really starving, work like hell for little money and want to better themselves, as opposed to the people who are waiting out for the perfect job, that suits them.

  2. Piper90

    Well done Edwina. I don’t normally agree with much that you say but on this one I am 100%. The One Show had the lady you visited who fed a dog and budgies and had the tumble dryer on and she sat there with her hair a different shade of blonde. These people need to know the difference between NEED and WANT. I also think that Social Services ought to try understanding that one too! Foster children have everything (and more) yet children who are with biological parents usually have to do without. Hard times call for hard decisions. The NHS was also set up by Bevan for peoples needs for basic treatment who couldn’t afford it, now what do we get…fertility treatment, plastic surgery (usually picking up private care blunders) and a heaving A&E on a friday because of binge drinking. Make them all pay is what I say instead of expecting the ordinary hard working citizen to pick up the tab.

  3. Mr Roshan

    I also notice the revolutionary hystericals at the BBC and this website have not provided the true context of her comments, which have been alluded to here, namely that there was a report on a ‘starving’ family with a nice house and a well fed dog.

    What is fairness and equality? How about a low flat tax (equal for everyone and everyone keeps 95% of their income), control the free migration we have so British citizens are not caught in a race to the bottom, eradicate the welfare state (and this includes the banks), have government pass laws protecting the consumer from fraud and over-the-top unfairness (rather than limiting the freedom of individuals) and let everyone be free to live their lives how they wish? Let private companies (funded by individuals voluntarily) and charities run our institutions. This is fair as the people make the choices and there would by no more choice by ego, which is essentially what left wing politics is all about (i.e. the commissars decide what they think is important and accord it funding from other people’s money).

    Our crisis has been precipitated by record government spending and a record poor welfare state, even when times where good (as well as now a welfare state for the rich) – the left need to have this rammed down their throats until they are silenced, because they are advocating more of the same.

  4. Anne

    I agree with Edwina. I work extremely hard to pay my mortgage and household bills and can’t afford luxury items. Some of my family and friends are on benefits but can still afford to smoke, drink, buy new furniture, satellite TV and upgrade to the latest mobile phones. With the exception of the elderly, most of the people who say they can’t afford to eat are in their 30s or younger. But they will still be paying their mobile phone credit & broadband for computer. Many have pets that need feeding and drive cars. Genuine poverty in this country is rare – beans on toast costs pennies & there are many times when me & my kids have had this as my food money has run short. No excuses – get a job & stop scrounging on the taxpayers or stop whining and tighten your belt the same as the rest of us have to.

  5. Owen Jones

    A passionate defense of the right to protest by @MissEllieMae after the scandalous conviction of 10 @UKUncut protesters http://t.co/FfoBxukJ

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