The government has made a surprising U-Turn on its free school meals after footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign.
Previously, the government insisted that its free school meal vouchers to families who qualify for free school meals would not continue during the summer holidays.
24 hours previously the government rejected Rashford's ask to continue paying families over the summer holidays, in which it was feared many children would go hungry. The government made the announcement that they would continue the scheme before they were meant to debate the issue in parliament, with MPs threatening to rebel. The scheme is £15 per recipient, per week, costing around £120 million in total.
Johnson has praised Rashford’s campaign, calling him to ‘thank him for what he’s done’. Opposition leader Keir Starmer said it was a ‘welcome U-turn’ on policy, while Rashford himself tweeted that he didn’t know what to say and to ‘look at what we can do when we come together.’ However, the scheme will not continue after the summer holidays.
The issue has shown Johnson’s government is susceptible to public pressure, giving in to issues which not doing so would threaten the Conservative’s strong position in the House of Commons.
Anna
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