General Election - Child Poverty
From June Eaton
Tuesday 18 June 2024
A question for Josh Fenton-Glynn, our Calder Valley Labour parliamentary candidate, and for Keir Starmer and the Labour Party leadership.
When you become the next government, you will have the ability and the power to immediately remove the cruel 2-child benefit cap to lift half a million children out of poverty (Institute of Fiscal Studies figures). On day one. You can just scrap the limit. You say you will not do this.
If a child came to your house hungry, starving even, would you give them food?
Or would you say: "I have to find money to buy more food to replace this food in the future, before I can give any to you." And send the child away hungry? That is what you are doing if you do not immediately remove the 2 child benefit cap.
June Eaton
Hebden Bridge.
From Alan Truman
Tuesday 18 June 2024
Why has this message only been pointed towards one general election candidate and not the Tories which implemented this plan? Classic Hebden obfuscation.
You could ask this question at the education hustings.
Also, respectfully there's zero chance any party leader will be monitoring HebWeb despite the mostly high editorial content.
From June Eaton
Tuesday 18 June 2024
Thanks Alan, yes of course it is a question for all candidates of all parties. But Labour looks highly likely to form the next government.
I have emailed the question to Josh directly.
From Allen Keep
Thursday 20 June 2024
June Eaton, I hope you get your perfectly reasonable question answered. I fear not, as from what I've seen on various forums our Labour candidate tends not to respond to any question that might seem remotely critical or challenging of Labour. I tried that on a Labour Facebook page and our Labour candidate simply blocked me. It's obviously the party line as you can see when any of the current shadow cabinet or leading party member is interviewed about anything.
It would be great if you reported back on any response you manage to get though.
Alan Truman refers to "typical Hebden obfuscation". What does "typical Hebden" mean I wonder?
Obfuscation means "the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible" according to the OED. What is obscure about asking a valid question Alan?
Even serial election loser Josh Fenton Glynn might win this one but God forbid a Labour party in power might be asked what it will do about child poverty.
How very dare you June, don't you know Labour has an election to win?
The Labour party talks endlessly about "change". As June rightly points out, Labour will have the power to make a change on this disgusting discriminatory policy from day one. It won't.
I saw the Labour Party Shadow Education Minister asked this same question on TV. She couldn't answer it and simply blamed the Tories. When pressed, she argued that Labour's policy on free breakfasts for all school children was a "first step". She was asked when the next step would be and, in the meantime, how many children would be raised out of poverty by getting a free breakfast at school. Again, she simply couldn't answer and blamed the Tories.
The OED gives an example of obfuscation "when confronted with sharp questions they resort to obfuscation".
How ironic.