Welcome to Brentwood Liberal Democrats
Brentwood Liberal Democrats wish to applaud footballer Marcus Rashford for his campaign to provide free school meal vouchers during school holidays until next Easter as families in poverty struggle to cope during the Coronavirus pandemic.
We also praise those local businesses that, despite suffering through lockdown, have offered free meals to those in need during half term.
However, we are also appalled that our MP, Conservative Alex Burghart, voted against feeding hungry children.
Cllr Karen Chilvers
Cllr David Kendall
Cllr Karen Chilvers, who stood against Mr Burghart when he was first elected in 2017, said:
"In Brentwood, 20% of our children live in poverty, How can our MP vote against something that would ensure they are adequately fed during school holidays? It makes me so angry and I expect better, I don't know how he sleeps at night".
Cllr David Kendall, our 2019 parliamentary candidate, said:
"Marcus Rashford has done a fantastcic job highlighting this very important issue. Businesses and other organizations have stepped up to the plate - literally - to make up for the government's failings. This Conservative government should be ashamed of their stance on free school meals. The Tories can find money for their pet projects but when it comes to children's welfare and free school meals for those that really need them they have failed to deliver".
Many businesses have offered free meals to children, but it is moving so fast it is impossible to keep up! Below is the advice from www.moneysavingexpert.com
Many offers of free food have been made in the past couple of days, and often they come from small independent restaurants or cafes, so there's no one easy way to check. But here's what to try: