As a child and teenager I was fortunate enough to qualify for free school meals every day.As the oldest of seven children and now a mother of a primary school child I understand just how much money that saved my parents.
Whilst both my mum and step-dad were incredibly hard workers my mum devoted her life to charity and a cause that couldn’t always pay her a wage. My step father went through a period of redundancy from the ship yard and was a stay at home father for a period of time.
Whilst we weren’t poverty stricken as such I certainly understood where our place in society in terms of material things and finances. This was really apparent to me after I joined a grammar school and had people tut at me on non-uniform day for wearing Lee jeans rather than Levi’s.
No doubt had I have asked my parents for Levi’s for this reason (and I did have at least one pair as a teenager) they would have found a way – they always found a way. But luckily I didn’t care whilst proudly declaring they were from the Lee factory in Newtownards.
Earlier this week the DUP helped the Tories strike a devastating blow to working class families across England as 9 DUP MPs (Emma Pengelly abstained) backed the latest Tory anti-working class bill.
It is believed the bill has stripped a million children in England of their right to a free school meal. As it stands those families who receive Universal Credit can claim free school meals.
However, under this new Tory bill, which could have got through without DUP support, children in Year 3 and above won’t be eligible if their parents earn more than £7,400 (£616 per month, £154 per week) per year. What’s interesting to me about all this is that it was reported earlier this week that the Tories made Northern Ireland exempt from the bill where the threshold is almost double at £14,000.
The question has to be asked why the DUP have backed this stripping of English families of free school meals but protected Northern Ireland. It’s not morally right.
Either they believe in the policy or not. Is this a case of a “not on our doorstep” kind of policy?
I’m baffled by the whole thing, a great majority of the DUP voters in Northern Ireland are working class people likely to be availing of free school meals.
How can they justify this behaviour? How could anyone in Northern Ireland trust them to protect them if they are willing to strike out at people just like us across the water?
The DUP celebrated and congratulated themselves when they reported home their £1.5billion bribe from the Tories for their support when it was needed and whilst we’ve seen a some evidence of their ability to have a little sway the reality is they have limited influence and they will – almost certainly – back some of the most severe Tory policies.
If they are going to do this how can they then represent their impoverished wards at Westminster?
This behaviour is hypocrisy. This Tory deal is a betrayal of their working class electorate.
Just £400,000 of the £1.5billion bribe has been released, is that how it’s going to be? Will the DUP have to go cap in hand with relevant votes in order to get sections of the money released?
Is it worth it to stand by and watch English families being plunged further and further into poverty for our gain?
Is it a case that we will be next? How can the DUP really protect the electorate if they cannot even get into government in Northern Ireland.
To have influence on a strategic level they may be forced into a betrayal of their constituents. Will they stand up to austerity, or will they cow to the government to gain other ‘wins’? Who knows.
First they came for the English working class but I was not a member of the English working class…