No 'massive' need for food banks, people just can't cook, claims Tory MP

There is no real need for food banks, just learning how to cook on a budget, a Tory MP has claimed.
Conservative Lee Anderson invited politicians in the House of Commons to visit his Ashfield constituency, touting his answer to poverty in the UK: budgeting and cooking classes.

'We can make a meal for about 30 pence a day' said Anderson, who claimed he volunteered regularly in his local food bank and argued that 'generation after generation' did not know how to cook cheap meals and budget

#LeeAnderson #CostOfLiving #FoodBanks #MP #Poverty

[nickcoppard]

Maybe mp s should have thier food expenses capped at 30 pence a day and no subsidy after all we are paying it !

[superguy]

I remember when the existence of food banks was considered a sign of a failing country.

[HELLFIREV]

I think many of us would like to see MPs just try and live on the average weekly wage of their constituents and then see what they have to say?

[nicf]

All MPs should be banned from claiming expenses and live to their means like the rest of us

[Altair]

No 'massive' need for huge numbers of MP's and their ridiculous expense accounts!

[LWQ]

30p a day? He definitely doesn’t do his own shopping haha

[quid]

Something tells me he has never lived a month on minimum wage and that if you challenged him to do so he would decline.

[lawrencevincent]

The tories are cruel, vindictive, and obsessively Victorian

[jakeroadtonowhere]

This is how out of touch MPs are
The food banks are funded by the kindness of the people of this country not the government so why should they tell you that you have to sign up to cooking lessons to get food i’ve never use a food bank but I tell you we Go to any level to help other people but when it comes to our people this is what happens this government are killing this country off it’s so expensive in the UK it’s not bear thinking about are fuel prices at the pump are ridiculous to the rest of the world

[DoomsdaySessions]

We have a tendency in the UK to focus on the little stories that detract from the big issue. The issue is not a Tory MP's opinion on food banks, it should be what are we going to do to help the burden on people across the UK. We have a government that allows big business to rake in huge profits from 'essential' price rises. When recession undoubtedly hits in the next few months, they will blame the British people for not spending enough to make the economy thrive. Reality is, there wouldn't be a danger of recession if big business shared the burden. However, the burden to big business is they make a tiny bit less profit. But yeah...let's focus on what an irrelevant MP said in the house of commons about food banks.

[andybrown]

When costing a meal nowadays it's not just the ingredients to be considering but also the power usage to make the meal.

You could be a potential michelin starred chef and still struggle to get a meal out.

[thestonedabbot]

If calling someone a liar or by their real name is enough to get you kicked out for Un-Parliamentary discourse then refusing to answer the question should also be considered a waste of the House's time and subject to discipline

[jonjones]

They have over THIRTY different bars/cafes/restaurants in the Palace of Westminster. ALL heavily subsidised by the taxpayer.

[AndrewReynolds-eg]

They have no idea what is going on in there own . Its the rich poor divide. Simply no compassion.

[pinkdiamond]

While I agree that cooking skills are going downhill and it is significantly cheeper to make food from scratch I would really like to see this guy try to live on a universal credit budget I bet he would run out of money on day one of the month.
I think all politicians should have to try to live on the lowest possible income for a month for that matter.
If they're going to be making decisions on behalf of the poorest in society they should at least have to live a month in their shoes.

[charlestownsend]

This is why to become an MP you must first spend a year solely living off benefits (or just minimum wage, just so that they actually understand how real people (us peasants in their eyes) live.

[lightgolden]

Interesting. Have they actually asked people? Or is this his personal judgement? What is his salary?

[willerwoody]

How long are the British going to take this!
Old people riding buses to try to keep warm while politicians tell jokes!
Has to erupt soon!

[danielseaburg]

the only meal you can make for 30 pence/day is this:
value pasta (29p/500g)
Passata - 35p/500g.
1kg carrots - 40p
40p+29p+35p= £1.04/3 = over 30p (divide by 3 cos approx 1/3 = one meal) and nope, it's over 30p. oh how silly of me, chuck out the passata and just eat pasta and carrots.

[brendarussell]

Cooking skills are useless if you can't afford to buy the basic ingredients. Food banks are funded by public donations so I think enforcing sign ups to thrift cookery programmes is unethical, insulting and degrading.