Angela Rayner jokes Tory MP Lee Anderson will be eating Space Raiders for dinner after foodbank comments
12.05.2022 - 00:59
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has poked fun at the 'disgraceful' comments made by Conservative MP Lee Anderson, suggesting that people relying on foodbanks could 'make a meal for about 30p a day', tweeting that he would be eating a packet of Space Raiders crisps for dinner.
The Ashton-under-Lyne MP, who has remained outspoken about her background and growing up in poverty, took to Twitter on Thursday evening, where she penned: "What's Lee Anderson cooking tonight?" followed by a packet of 30p Space Raiders.
It comes after opposition MP Lee Anderson faced calls to apologise on Thursday, after he suggested people in the UK use food banks because they 'cannot cook properly' and 'cannot budget'. He invited 'everybody' on the opposition benches in the House of Commons to visit a food bank in Ashfield, where, when people come for a food parcel, they now need to register for a 'budgeting course' and a 'cooking course'.
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When asked by a Labour MP if it should be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain, Mr Anderson said there is not "this massive use for food banks" in the UK, but “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”. On Thursday evening, Rayner's comedic tweet quickly picked up traction, with thousands of likes and hundreds of retweets.
His comments, which came during the second day of the Queen’s Speech debate in the Commons, have been harshly criticised, with some urging the Ashfield MP to apologise. Labour branded his remarks “beyond belief”, whilst the Liberal Democrats described them as “disgraceful” and the SNP said they were “crass”.
And the Trades Union Congress insisted the comments showed “how out