Parallels between Boris Johnson and Margaret Thatcher have been circulating around social media after the Conservatives voted against providing free meals for hungry kids over the school holidays.
Labour’s last ditch attempt to see the free school meal scheme extended until Easter 2021 was overwhelmingly rejected in parliament with 322 MPs voting against it versus 261 who voted in favour.
Child Poverty Action Group said ” We’ve reached a low point” shortly after the vote with the Government ducking its “moral responsibility”.
Milk snatcher
As Education Secretary in Edward Heath’s government Thatcher made a similar decision in 1971 to stop the provision of milk for junior school pupils which prompted the playground taunt “Thatcher, Thatcher, milk snatcher”.
Files released by the National Archives 19 years later show that she could have regretted the move.
According to the documents she was horrified when Health Secretary Ken Clarke proposed ending free milk for nursery schoolchildren as well.
“No – this will cause a terrible row – all for £4m. I know – I went through it 19 years ago,” she scrawled in a handwritten note.
Some things never change. pic.twitter.com/lVwHGVxK4z
— The London Economic (@LondonEconomic) October 23, 2020
Miners
Thatcher’s fractious relationship with the miners has also been well documented.
Years of striking created a war “no one deserved to win”, with accusations that they were “starved back to work” by the end.
starving starving
— ＬＯＵＩＳ (@mxmxnto_mori) October 23, 2020
miners minors pic.twitter.com/L1W3Ev3SYy
Yet Boris still seems to have come off worse. As the below tweets evidence:
Margaret Thatcher took their milk. Boris Johnson has taken their whole meal.
— Dermot 'Day 230 – Wear a Mask!' Devlin (@castleDD) October 23, 2020
We gave Marcus Rashford an MBE for his campaign to feed school children and then we completely ignored his campaign to feed school children #ENDCHILDFOODPOVERTY
— Boris Johnson #StayAlertControlTheVirus ᵖᵃʳᵒᵈʸ (@GetBrexit_Done) October 23, 2020
Boris Johnson and the government refusing to feed hungry school kids in the same week it was announced MPs will be receiving a £3.3k pay rise is a complete disgrace https://t.co/1PRgG7rfWC
— zach (@xyzachh) October 15, 2020
Related: Tory trustee for Feeding Britain votes against feeding Britain