The Young Communist League has issued a statement on the news that for the first time in history, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, have been forced to intervene to help feed hungry children in Britain this winter.
The fact that for the first time in its 74 year history UNICEF, the United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian aid to children, has had to step in to feed hungry children and families in Britain in yet another damning indictment of a decade of Tory government.
Statistics from the Trussell Trust, the nationwide charity coordinating foodbanks, show that since 2008 foodbank use has increased cross Britain by 7,237%. Approximately 14.3 million working people in our country are living in poverty. At least 1 in 4 children in Britain grow up in poverty. The real figures could be far higher.
The reality behind these statistics is sickening – working people in one of the richest countries on the planet are unable to feed themselves. It is a damning indictment of the inhumane capitalist system. This increase is the direct result of the austerity policies of successive Conservative Governments and chronic unemployment and stagnant, poverty wages. The majority of those living in poverty come from a household where at least one person is working.
Serious government intervention could have stopped this crisis before it came to a head and funds could be made available now but Boris Johnson’s government is making an ideologically driven choice to let children go hungry. The money is there.
The amount that it would cost to guarantee no one goes hungry in Britain this winter is nothing compared to the amounts that have been squandered on the £12 billion track and trace system that doesn’t work or the hundreds of millions being handed out in government contracts to dodgy firms ran by friends of the Tory cabinet.
This should be a wake up call to anyone who had illusions about the priorities of the government during this pandemic. For them, it has always been about ensuring corrupt corporate handouts keep flowing while the youth, working people and their families are left destitute.
This is a sign of things to come in 2021 as the Tories work to enforce even harsher austerity after the pandemic ends.
Britain’s young communists are calling for:
- Guaranteed meals across Britain for all children and adults, without means testing.
- Guaranteed central government funding for local council support for foodbanks.
- A public inquiry and criminal investigation into government contracts which have been issued during the pandemic to firms with clear links to government politicians.
No Tory austerity and corruption!
Fight for a dignified life for Britain’s youth!
Executive Committee
Young Communist League
18 December 2020
London, Britain
Challenge News Desk
