Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey MP has caused outrage after stating that foodbanks are the “perfect way to try and marry the challenges that people do face in difficult times in the life.” The already unpopular head of the Department and Work and Pensions (DWP) Coffey, was responding to a question from new Labour MP, Zarah Sultana at Work and Pensions questions in the House of Commons.
The latest remarks by the head of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are unfortunately not in the least bit surprising. In the past senior Tory MPs have been keen to either blame foodbank users for the problems, or just ignore why their use is rising and push them as a solution.
During the 2017 General Election campaign, now Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb was blasted for comments he made on The Victoria Derbyshire Program. Rabb responded to a question foodbank use by saying;
“Look, in terms of the food bank issue, I’ve studied the Trussell Trust data.
“What they tend to find is the typical user of a food bank is not someone who’s languishing in poverty, it’s someone who has a cash flow problem episodically.”
New Scotland 