Foodbank users can’t cook properly, says MP
Tory MP Lee Anderson has said that poor people use foodbanks because they cannot cook properly; they haven’t got the skills to budget appropriately or do a proper weekly shop, ‘like we did back in the day’. Mr Anderson said he was not ‘being a nasty Tory.’ ‘The point I was making was that there are a lot of people out there who with the right help, the right support, and the right education, would be able to fend for themselves.’ The Trussell Trust foodbank network said, ‘Foodbank need in the UK is about lack of income, not food.’ Mr Anderson’s expenses claim last year was £220,000. The Independent Food Aid Network wrote to the chancellor warning they are close to ‘breaking point’ after an unsustainable surge in demand due to the cost of living crisis.
Ben Wallace warnings
As Russia staged a military parade marking its defeat of Nazi Germany, the defence secretary accused Russia of hijacking their ‘forebears' proud history’ and said their generals must face war crimes trials. Mr Wallace said, ‘Russia is not interested in occupying Mariupol; he is simply destroying it. Russia's brutality in Ukraine could send incredibly dangerous messages if Putin was successful. It would indicate to powers around the world that they ‘just need to be more brutal than others to achieve their aims. If Putin is successful in Ukraine, then watch out.’ He also said the Government was in this ‘for the long haul’ and would continue providing Ukraine military and financial support, plus more sanctions targeting £1.7bn of new import tariffs on Russian goods used to make parts for mobile phones and computers. Export bans will target chemicals, plastics, rubber and machinery. It takes the value of products subject to UK sanctions to over £4bn.
Recession and windfall tax
The UK could be heading for a recession. The economy contracted by 0.1% in March, and higher prices are ‘really beginning to bite’, the Office for National Statistics said. People are spending less in shops and cutting down on car journeys; the impact of higher energy bills in April has also yet to be seen. Many price rises are just starting to hit households now. Last week the Bank of England forecast that inflation could reach more than 10% by the end of the year. It warned the UK faces a ‘sharp economic slowdown’. The chancellor has threatened to hit energy companies with a one-off ‘windfall’ tax if they don't invest enough in new projects. Opposition parties want to tax the soaring profits of oil and gas firms to help families grappling with rising bills. Treasury officials have been ordered to examine a potential tax, and Boris Johnson said the Government would have to look at the windfall proposal if not enough investment was made.
Police will investigate Starmer ‘Beergate’
Keir Starmer insists he did not break coronavirus lockdown laws by having a beer and a curry at a ‘campaign event’. A source who was present at the meal said, ‘It has been claimed that Starmer worked during the curry and then after the curry. None of those two things happened. He did not go back to work.’ He added, ‘Some of those present at the event with Sir Keir and deputy leader Angela Rayner were not working at all and were just there for a jolly’. Durham police are looking into the event. ‘Sir Keir Starmer has been economical with the truth about “Beergate”', said Dominic Raab. But he did not call for Sir Keir’s resignation if police fined him. Instead he said his party would remain focused on the economy, not engaging with the beer saga. ‘If he's going to be talking about his curry menu for the next week, we're not going to be engaged in that.’
