During recent visits to food banks in Dorset I shared my own food parcel story from 1977 when my dad was on the firefighters’ strike.

I’d assumed we received support from a food bank, so was shocked to learn that Trussell Trust only started operating in 2000. Our parcels actually came from people directly supporting striking firefighters.
In the last five years, the number of people using Trussell trust food banks has increased from 1.2million to 2.1million – this does not include groups like
Faithworks that run Wimborne and Blandford food banks, or those run by churches.

It is a really humbling experience visiting a food bank. Turning up with my box of supplies I felt utterly inadequate and while it is heartening that people are willing to donate food, money, and time it is outrageous that such facilities are now needed in the UK.
Poverty is not new, but the Welfare State as imagined and designed by great Liberal leaders Beveridge and Keynes was supposed to ensure that no one would be short of food or shelter.
Thankfully the recent autumn statement reinstated the link with inflation to both pensions and means-tested benefits and it’s crucial that this keeps pace with the cost of living going forward.
However, Conservative policies are leading to increased childhood poverty.

According to House of Commons data, the levels of child poverty across both Mid and North Dorset is increasing, although it had not quite reached 2015 levels. The trajectory suggests that when they are next published, around 10% of local children will be living in absolute poverty. In parts of Three Legged Cross this figure is already more than 25% and in Canford Heath more than 200 children live in relative poverty. Perverse rules affecting the link between housing benefit and work are leading to families having to reduce working hours to be able to get help with rent.
The two-child policy which affects new Universal Credit (UC) claims is also hitting young children hard, this is a cruel policy which takes no account of changes that can take place during the course of a childhood.

The Liberal Democrats stopped this from being introduced during the coalition, and in the most recent manifesto in 2019 they committed to scrap this policy.
The public sector pay freeze has led to the sight of nurses, carers and other working people visiting a food bank for the first time.
Liberal Democrats would overhaul free childcare, make it more difficult for parents to seek extra work outside school hours and bring more parents back into the workforce and would extend free school meals provision to all primary pupils and secondary pupils whose families claim UC.

We know that the country has to tighten its belt and accept that some of the problems have been created by Covid and Putin’s war. But the Conservatives must accept that Brexit and their policies, which seek to protect the rich, have led to communities that have been forgotten, and generations that are being let down. It’s time for change, we need to remove this self-serving Conservative government, give everyone the opportunity to thrive and eradicate poverty in society.