An increased awareness of foodbanks has led to a rise in people using them, the Conservative General Election candidate for Lichfield and Burntwood has claimed.
Michael Fabricant was appearing alongside Lib Dem rival Paul Ray and the Green Party’s Robert Pass at a hustings event at Wade Street Church.
Figures released last month showed that more than 200,000 meals had been handed out by the Lichfield Foodbank over the past three years, while a Trussell Trust report showed a continued increase in demand for foodbanks across the UK.
But when quizzed on the issue at the hustings event, Conservative candidate Michael Fabricant said awareness had helped increase demand for such services.
“The reason there are so many people using foodbanks is that they are now actively promoted by the Department for Work and Pensions,” he said. “This is something that wasn’t happening before.”
The Lichfield Foodbank has recently launched an appeal for additional items after seeing “high demand” for its services.
Mr Fabricant said: “The magic money tree policies offered up by other parties would lead to higher unemployment and more people using foodbanks.
“In an ideal world we wouldn’t see anyone using foodbanks – but remember that it could be much worse.”
His comments drew criticism from his rivals on the night, with the Green Party candidate saying Tory cuts were forcing low income families to rely on handouts.
“There has been a 16% year on year increase in foodbank usage,” Mr Pass said. “This has come as continued Conservative cuts continue to bite.
“It is indefensible and absolute disgrace.”
The Liberal Democrat hopeful also waded into the row, branding the rising demand for foodbanks “shameful”.
Mr Ray added: “It is wrong that people are relying on these services.
“Yes, there has been a need for some cuts to the benefits bill, but enough is enough.”
Meanwhile, there was also an interjection from the hustings chairman who confirmed that the majority of those using foodbanks in Lichfield were people in employment.
Mr Fabricant. Can you let the Conservative council know. I do not have access to a magic money tree either.
But they seem to think that I do. When they dramatically increase my council tax bill every year.
So basically, people saw an advert for food banks and thought they sounded like a good idea for a day trip?
Scary that Fabricant believes his own rubbish.
Anyone who was there tonight will also have seen the way he treats those who ask him to justify his views. He decided to rant at someone who questioned him on schools instead of trying to answer the point they made. Fabby the jolly clown suddenly had a much more sinister look to him as the mask and wig slipped momentarily. A nasty piece of work representing a nasty party.
I was also there tonight and I didn’t hear someone questioning views on schools, I heard a jolly rude man shouting when they’d been asked not to heckle by the chairman meaning the rest of us couldn’t hear what was being said. It was not just the conservative candidate that was annoyed at the outburst, it was the rest of us that were trying to listen to what all the candidates said. Perhaps we were at different events?
Michael Fabricant has consistently voted to cut benefits for the disabled. He is shameful and he & his party are responsible for an increase in child poverty in this country, along with a decrease in the standard of living for the majority of our population. While the rest of us continue to experience pay cuts, he gets a pay rise & his rich mates get big tax breaks…. And the national debt has increased, not decreased, under the Tories. He & his party disgust me.
There’s only ONE reason, and ONE reason only, why people use food banks…BECAUSE THEY ARE HUNGRY & CAN’T AFFORD TO BUY FOOD!
Amused – Perhaps you’re a Tory and I’m not?
The man asked him to justify Chadsmead when talking about his fabulous academies. He didn’t have an answer. Most of the Tory councillors in the audience didn’t need to hear what Fab had to say as you’d heard it all before.
Remember, this guy also spoke about Foodbanks then mentioned he went for a curry most nights. What an arse.
Food banks are certainly going to have to be more widely advertised once primary school dinners are slashed AND replaced with a 7p breakfast AND that’s the cost without considering the additional canteen staff needed to be employed by the schools to cater for the early morning meals. So all in all, less money per pupil for actual education as well. I’m not sure if our MP is just arrogant at defending one of the safest seats in the UK – I can say what I like, ’cause my faithful will elect me anyway.
I’d say it’s more nessesity than awareness I suppose it’s a bit like the crumbling NHS is due to lack of funding nothing to do with mass immigration draining resources
Ah lovely, the turd in a wig showing his true colours.
With regards to the man shouting, it’s not desirable but if you are passionate about a local issue, how else are you going to get heard? I’ve written to Fabricant in the past about a local issue and received the standard thanks for your letter reply, not a lot I can do.
When people are seeing the extent of Tory cuts at a local level and little chance to hold the decision makers feet to the fire, you take whatever opportunities you can.
A final note on the shouting incident, Fabricant tweeted about and was particularly disdainful about the man who shouted, calling him obese and sweary, he then suffixed his tweet saying he wasn’t “fattist[sic].” Some people may be ineloquent and, indeed, overweight, does that make their point less valid?
The fact that there are food banks at all is an utter disgrace and Tory attempts to justify or belittle their existence should tell you all you need to know about them.
What are the extent of these “cuts” at a local level?
I haven’t noticed anything.
Man in bubble can’t see the reason for things he doesn’t agree with.
What a shock!
I didn’t say I didn’t agree with them, I haven’t seen any.
You may notice the difference between the two statements.
I didn’t realize my “bubble” was separate to everyone else’s.
You haven’t seen any because it doesn’t affect you.
That’s what the ‘bubble’ means.
Rob – potholed roads, charges for waste taken to tip, charge for brown bin collections, potential closure of minor injuries dept., reduction in funding to schools (now asking parents to buy books which are part of the curriculum, as well as donations for school repairs). Just some that come to mind immediately.
Granted Staffs County Council have earmarked £5m for the roads, but it will be the usual bodge-it and scarper job rather than a long term plan for road maintenance.
sj – Using the argument mass immigration drains resources implies that every single person who has migrated here pays absolutely no contribution in tax while in the country. It’s a flawed argument with no basis, but sounds good to folk like yourself as it blames somebody else for the fact there is under-investment in our services, which is all based on the Conservative government’s obsession with small-state politics and treating the country’s economics like they are running GB Plc.
Foodbanks just should not be happening. End of.
Just because I’ve provided for myself doesn’t mean I inhabit a separate universe. Living within my means always seemed a logical path to take.
Anyhow, I keep hearing about these cuts, are you going to enlighten me?
Most charities exist because of a hole, a missing piece of societies safety net into which somebody has fell and they are there to catch them.
Frozen and decreased public pay since 2010, house prices, rents, energy costs all rising and those who depend on benefits to top up their low wages suddenly find they have been stopped no notice by the Department of Work and Pensions for no apparent reason, they then find out that the local council has stopped any housing assistance payments because the DWP has notified them they have stopped benefit payments, what do families do? buy food and don’t pay the rent to the landlord and risk been homeless or pay rent and the family goes hungry, it can take weeks for the DWP and Council to restart payments they have erroneously ceased and this is happening to key workers like Teaching Assistants and Nurses here in Lichfield, people I know, quietly struggling to live to work for other people in the Lichfield community.
It is a disgrace that people like these need to use a food bank in Lichfield. It is a disgrace that the Conservative Party think this is Okay.
We are no better than a third world dictatorship, with a faux facade of respectability, Lichvegas? more like Lichfakeness Mr Fabricant.
I’m not sure which shouter you are referring to. I am on the large size but trying very hard to slim down- happy to take Mr Fabricant on in the Lichfield 10K if he fancies it- but for the record, I didn’t swear! I resent the comment that I did- if it was aimed at me- Lets call me the Chadsmead Ranter!
Oh and as for rudeness, a little even handedness as Paul Wray was constantly being heckled though everything he said.
Most people are unaware of the reality of what is really going on with the NHS. If you don’t know anything about THE NAYLOR REPORT, I strongly suggest you spare 10 minutes to watch this video to find out :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx3hrpDCct8
The Tories claim they want to protect the NHS. They don’t – they fully intend to flog it off and to add insult to injury they plan to use £10 billion of our money to cover the cost of the fire-sale. For our own and our children’s sake, we cannot allow them anywhere near the power to do it.
I missed sj’s comment on health tourism or less subtly “migrants draining our NHS.”
It is true that some visitors come to this country and access our NHS services. We don’t turn these people away because, quite rightly, we don’t turf people into the street to die.
The cost is incredibly hard to calculate, however Full Fact have had a stab at it, you can read more here:
https://fullfact.org/health/health-tourists-how-much-do-they-cost-and-who-pays/
A rough estimate is £1.755 billion, however some of that money is recoverable and some of it isn’t, through people leaving to countries to which we have no reciprocal claw-back agreement, they just disappear or simply don’t have the funds to pay.
Recovery of the money is estimated at £18 million.
The NHS budget for 2015-2016 was £116.4 billion. So the cost to the NHS, and us, is 1.5% of the NHS budget, give or take a little for ‘fag packet’ maths.
I wonder how much money has been wasted bringing in Private Public Initiative PPI) agreements which, to my deepest chagrin, was Tony Blair’s hair-brained initiative?
How can you look to make money from healthcare? Which is what private companies will be expecting.
There’s a hugely informative podcast (Private Eye, Page 94) on privatisation in the NHS and the perversion of privatisation, I’d suggest people check it out.
Regarding May’s Dementia Tax – it has nothing to do with this of course : The fast growing home equity release market is dominated by Legal & General in the UK (29% market share), of which a major shareholder is Capital Group, of which a key UK executive is Philip May, husband of Theresa May.
@ Rob
Why don’t you go and read? Do we really need to spoon-feed you facts and figures?
Perhaps the harsher truth is you don’t want to, because the reality doesn’t agree with your perception of a Conservative government.
I’m sure you’re immensely proud that you’ve provided for yourself, sadly we’re not all cut from the same cloth. People fall by the wayside, through circumstance often outside of their control, others make poor life choices, whatever the reason, I want to live in a society that helps people, that doesn’t discard them and gets them the support they need.
You support a party that looks to fill the pockets of the already well off, by making them richer, in the perverse belief that the money will trickle downwards. It doesn’t work effectively and it doesn’t work quick enough to help those most in need.
I just can’t get onboard with that.
I can’t get on board with a party that pays people to have babies that they really can’t afford.
Ah, but Rob, people are only having babies because they’re more aware of them now.
@ Rob
What if someone has a baby and loses their job when the child is 18 months old?
I think you need a check of your weasel-word approach. We don’t “pay people’ to have babies, we support them.
On another note, in the 1970’s the average birthrate for women around the world was 6, it is now as low as 2.7 and 1 in some extremes. Women are having fewer children and later in life.
The presents other problems, but I’m not sure you see that far ahead.
Tough on babies and tough on the causes of babies.
If someone loses their job they get unemployment benefit and other help.
If we don’t pay people to breed, why do we give them money. The more they reproduce, the more they get – crazy.
“If someone loses their job they get unemployment benefit and other help.”
Have you been unemployed recently? I haven’t, but reading peoples stories it’s really not that simple and the Conservatives are making it ever harder, this is what pushes people to poverty, to seek out food banks.
“If we don’t pay people to breed, why do we give them money. The more they reproduce, the more they get – crazy.”
We support them because it’s about many factors, like population continuance, they pay taxes when they grow up, it’s called society.
In fact the point about taxes is an important one, you and I were a drain on the social state when we were born. The NHS brought you into the world and your mother wasn’t charged a penny. You now work to provide that same level of service to other mothers and children.
You know who didn’t drain from the public pot, but now pay into it by their taxes? Immigrants.
Darryl – well said! We are a supposedly civilised society that needs to support people. From what I can see (and I’m neither a Tory nor a councillor as suggested above) all parties are saying this, they just disagree with the route to get there. I don’t think a party have been invented yet that I completely agree with (don’t even suggest Lib Dems!) but there has to be a route somewhere for all people to be able to strive to improve their lives regardless of their starting point. And where people make poor life choices (as suggested above) this doesn’t mean that their lives stop at that point – they must also have a responsibility (with support) to get things back on track.
Agreed Darryl, it is being part of a society that ensures we look after our young and our future. Rob’s animosity towards people having children must be a personal issue that he can’t deal with. These sort of folk embrace libertarianism because it fits in with their selfish, judgmental approach to life.
Can someone / anyone give me a good reason to vote for Fabricant?
Can someone / anyone list 5 good deeds Fanricant has undertaken since the last election that have helped the people of his constituency please?
If not I’ll be voting to change our ‘local’ MP.
@mike:
“Rob’s animosity towards people having children must be a personal issue that he can’t deal with.”
Must it really?
Glad you know all about me.
@Rob
It comes across in your posts Rob, feel free to correct me.
No matter what Fabricant says, however appalling, you will all still vote him in. Everyone I speak to in Lichfield thinks he is awful, yet this is probably the safest seat in the country. He doesn’t have to do a thing for you, me or this city. He is the biggest benefit cheat of them all, taking taxpayers money and not standing up for ALL in the community, not just the better off. He is out of touch with reality, along with the rest of his party and the PM. I despair, I really do. Unfortunately Lichfield, along with most of the country that vote Tory, the attitude is all about Me and how will I be better off. Who cares about the rest? What is wrong with paying a bit more tax to improve services, Education, NHS, roads etc? Most want something for nothing.
But let’s just all complain about him, mark a cross next to his name on Thursday and then complain about how useless he is for the next 5 years. Turkeys voting for Christmas
@SB I totally agree. I know numerous people who have written to him. I have also.
The standard response seems to be, very sorry to hear that. Sadly, there is very little I can do.
Dangerous to take the electorate for granted.
Jeremy Corbyn is now London’s favourite candidate for Prime Minister, according to a newly released poll.
The YouGov survey for the Evening Standard sees Mr Corbyn overtake Theresa May as the preferred choice to lead the country among Londoners.
The poll also points to a broader Labour surge in the capital – boosted in large part by young voters – giving Mr Corbyn’s party a 17 point lead over the Tories and potentially condemning a handful of London Conservatives to defeat.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/general-election-poll-latest-jeremy-corbyn-london-labour-prime-minister-theresa-may-conservatives-a7766941.html
Mike come head out of the sand please, we can see the effects mass uncontrolled immigration has had all over the country from lack of housing to the NHS in crisis the truth is we haven’t the infrastructure or the means to cope both successive labour and conservative governments have failed .
If you honestly think I bear animosity to people having children then you’re not reading them correctly.
I’m rather more interested in Mike’s awareness of my “personal issues” that I “can’t deal with” and “MUST have” if you don’t mind Darryl.
If we didn’t keep dropping corporation tax year on year we would have money for NHS etc. It’s looking after those at the very that matters, nothing else. Everyone is leaving of their own free will anyway now the pound has plummeted because of Brexit and we are no longer an attractive country to work in.
@sj
We don’t have uncontrolled immigration. We have legal and illegal. The Conservative government has failed to tackle it as have the Labour government.
Despite the finger wagging at the EU, we allow people to come here and work, we don’t give them thousands of pounds to loll about not working.
Rob comes across as a lovely bloke. Very inclusive, open minded, tolerant, informed, wise, community driven, a not at all self centred Tory. I bet he’s really successful with a lovely family, lots of friends and very popular amongst his colleagues at work. Just like our local MP. Shame there’s not more like him around the place.
Apart from that community driven thing, not a bad effort.
No time for the idiot provocateur rob but the immigration joke – do you actually know anything about housing, health etc in this country? Do you know why immigration increased on Teresa May’s watch? Do you know how little effect immigration has upon anything but the maintenance of public services such as the NHS, where it has a massive BENEFIT?
Basically, you don;t know and make stuff up to avoid having to find out and think.
And Fabricant must wet himself laughing in contempt at the turkeys who vote for him every 5 years, so he can ask all sorts of rubbish questions and do very little indeed – I had three years of Hansard sent as daily emails tracking Fabricant, and at the best it was vomitworthy sycophantic stuff, at the worst it was about milk production in Wales or some such topic unrelated to his constituency.
@Steve – I really hope JC wins and that the most recent polls are accurate. Let’s face it, what’s not to like about the Labour Manifesto? The Tories have been brain washing the public for years with their falsehoods eg. through The Daily Fail.
There is a shocking and anti-democratic bias towards the Conservatives in the press & mainstream media. It’s an old-boys-network, ‘you scratch my back’ club where the Tory party donors (eg the criminal Rupert Murdoch and his cronies) are dictating policy over and above our heads, and spewing out daily propaganda for the party.
Anyone who votes Tory should be ashamed. They need to ‘wake up & smell the coffee’ and realise they are being ‘played like fiddles.’
This Tory Govt has a dreadful track record and are not giving us a damn thing..We can expect further cuts, a worse standard of living, lower wages, less workers rights, environmental degradation (fracking), higher bills, be left with nothing to leave our kids when we pass away, a dismatling of the NHS, under funded schools, a bigger national debt, a return of barbaric fox-hunting, and as for being ‘strong & stable,’ …well, that’s just a joke.
Their track record demonstrates that they are not fit to run the country and they are certainly unfit to take us through the Brexit process. They are a load of self-serving, thieving disgusting liars…
Hi John, thanks for “idiot”, I’ll file it with “dimbo” and “a joke”.
The problem is Rob, unless you position yourself, which you have, and provide evidence for your views, which you haven’t, it just comes across as a bit trollish.
People spout on about immigrants, the NHS etc. etc. yet never really provide any source for their information. It’s almost as if the Daily Mail were put into words.
Not intended to be trollish as you put it, just my opinion(s), based on observation and experience.
I look at Lorna L’s statement “Anyone who votes Tory should be ashamed.” and find things like that incredibly offensive and insulting. Why should anyone be ashamed for exercising their right to vote in a democracy and what gives anyone like LL the moral high ground?
Fabricant is either deliberately lying or he is ignorant of the facts, which are;
– To receive an emergency food parcel from the Trussell Trust you have to have a food voucher issued by a doctor or social worker or someone similar (i.e. *not* the DWP)
– A 2015 study by researchers from Oxford University controlled for the effect of new food banks by only looking at the usage of existing food banks. They found that in those areas between 2011 and 2013 the number of parcels handed out rose from 0.69 per 100 people to 2.2 parcels per 100 people.
– In 2016/17 over 40% of Trussell Trust referrals were due to some form of problem with a benefit payment.
– A recent study by the University of Oxford looking at data from 259 local authorities found that when the rate of sanctioning went up in an area, the rate of food bank use also went up.
– The Trussell Trust says that it has seen a 17% rise in food bank use in areas where Universal Credit is fully operational, citing waiting times for claimants to be assessed and difficulties with the Universal Credit system.
– There is also good evidence that changes to the benefit system have played a part in pushing up use of food banks
All of the above from the independent fact-checking service, Full Fact: https://fullfact.org/economy/why-are-more-people-using-food-banks/
So which is it Mike, are you lying or are you ignoring the facts to push your own ideology instead?
I’m guessing it’s the latter, and the same ideology that led to his voting record;
– Generally voted for reducing housing benefit for social tenants deemed to have excess bedrooms (which Labour describe as the “bedroom tax”)
– Consistently voted against raising welfare benefits at least in line with prices
– Consistently voted against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to illness or disability
– Consistently voted for making local councils responsible for helping those in financial need afford their council tax and reducing the amount spent on such support
– Almost always voted for a reduction in spending on welfare benefits
– Almost always voted against spending public money to create guaranteed jobs for young people who have spent a long time unemployed
Again, all from the independent service TheyWorkForYou: https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/10193/michael_fabricant/lichfield/votes#welfare
I am disgusted in Mr Fabricant’s arrogance and complete disregard for the electorate. People go to food banks because they have to not because they heard about them on the news and thought that would be great day out.
People surely can’t be duped by these Tory MPs who do not represent honest hard working people. They are using guise of austerity to serve the needs of themselves and their fat cat friends at the expenses of us.
I only hope people wake up before it is too late
Now that’s a sourced comment @Philip John!
@Rob
I don’t think people are decrying voting Conservative (well most people), they’re critical of what appears to be unsubstantiated Tory right wing comments.
I think the Westminster Bubble, is the issue.
MP’s live in a world where they get a far higher salary than most of us.
They have a performance review once every 5 years. Then all the do is tell you, I will do x,y and z. In the future. Rather than what they have achieved in the past few years.
They can claim for so many of their expenses. That most of us call, our cost of living.
They are part of a back patting club.
Ministers are followed round, by a bunch of Oxbridge graduates, they have never lived in the real world.
They then become experts in everything, as soon as they receive a title. Look at Sajid Javid. One minute he is an expert on Culture and Arts, then Business and then he makes planning decisions. All because he has been given a job.
You would not accept a surgeon who says to you, I used to be ENT, but I have always fancied having a go at Neurosurgery.
You think you are promoting Staffordshire. You are just looking foolish and making the electorate embarrassed.
“The thing that amazes me about MP’s is that they don’t seem to realise how embarrassing they are in public”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asNDTTzajnA