An open letter to Richard Drax MP

I expected you to vote down the Lord’s amendment to the Agriculture Bill, the one which aimed to protect British farmers from sub-standard products flooding the market and putting them out of business.

I expected it, despite the fact that you represent a constituency with many farming interests. I expected you to accept your MP’s pay rise, in spite of the fact that you voted down a pay rise for nurses, many of whom have died from Covid-19 through working long shifts on understaffed wards with inadequate PPE.

Do you consider yourself more worthy than a nurse?

What I did not expect was that you would vote against a motion to provide free school meals to hungry children, many of whose parents have suffered a rapid fall in their incomes due to Covid-19.

You must be aware of the lengthy delays to benefits under Universal Credit, forcing many to use food banks because they have nothing to fall back on.

You must be aware of the 38% increase in child poverty since your party came to power in 2010.

In spite of this, and despite that fact that the haute cuisine meals you eat in the House of Commons are massively subsidised by the tax payer, you are content to let children go hungry.

ANTON AFANASIEW

Argyle Road Weymouth

Richard Drax explained why he voted against the free school meals motion. Click here to read the article - Editor