The recent mini-budget which was announced on Friday, September 23, has been labelled a "war on class" in an emotional plea during The World Transformed festival.
West Derby MP Ian Byrne, Fans Supporting Food Banks co-founder Dave Kelly along with two other speakers, Carl Walker and Pat Quigley, took to the stage during a 90 minute event highlighting the state of food poverty up and down the country. The World Transformed festival, currently being hosted in Liverpool and running alongside the Labour Conference, has set out to "politically educate" people of all ages.
The festival is hosting a number of events across the city, with people from all over the country attending in support. As dozens filled the event space at the Black-E event hall in the city centre, almost all seats were taken as people listened as to how they could help with the dire situation many people find themselves in.
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Carl Walker, deputy leader of Worthing Council, led the event, with him claiming that food poverty is a "political choice" as he made a powerful speech on the impact of the recently announced mini-budget which cut income tax by 1p, reversal of the 1.25% national insurance rise and benefit sanctions.
He said: "Food banks are on their knees. The announcement on Friday is a war on class, it's not a mini-budget. In my constituency we're seeing 30-40 people signing up each week for food banks and we know how difficult this winter is going to be as well. We have to be angry. People are numb because they think there's no hope."
Carl explained that the effect food poverty is having on people is more than physical and that it is having detrimental effects on people's mental health. He added: "When you speak to someone who uses a community food bank they talk about the trauma and shame.
"If you look at the people who are queuing up at a food bank they are ashamed. It's not talked about enough. What you don't hear is the other side of it. They feel like they have lost control over their lives. What you see is not mental health problems it's economical violence. It's people forced to live in hunger."
The group, along with a number of politicians across the country are calling on a national right-to-food movement. Ian Byrne spoke of the model in Portugal, with each child receiving a three-course meal each school day irrespective of whether parents are able to pay for it.
The West Derby MP and co-founder of Fans Supporting Food Banks said: "What needs to happen is, enough is enough, every single pressure group in this country needs to be absolutely demanding the end of food poverty in our communities. If I can sit down with the chancellor and I have one million people behind me shouting and demanding the end of food poverty. It makes a difference because politically that makes a difference."
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