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Jack Monroe: David Cameron 'uses stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric' to legitimise NHS privatisation | Jack Monroe: David Cameron 'uses stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric' to legitimise NHS privatisation |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Guardian columnist and food blogger Jack Monroe has received a Tory backlash after suggesting the Prime Minister used "stories about his dead son" in order to sell off the NHS "to his friends". | Guardian columnist and food blogger Jack Monroe has received a Tory backlash after suggesting the Prime Minister used "stories about his dead son" in order to sell off the NHS "to his friends". |
David Cameron’s son Ivan died at the age of just six in 2009 after suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy. | David Cameron’s son Ivan died at the age of just six in 2009 after suffering from cerebral palsy and epilepsy. |
He had previously declared his admiration for the way NHS staff had cared for his son. | He had previously declared his admiration for the way NHS staff had cared for his son. |
He also asked how the Labour party could “dare” claim that he was unsupportive about the Health Service at the Conservative party conference in 2014. | He also asked how the Labour party could “dare” claim that he was unsupportive about the Health Service at the Conservative party conference in 2014. |
Monroe, a poverty campaigner, posted the following series of tweets on Twitter last night: | Monroe, a poverty campaigner, posted the following series of tweets on Twitter last night: |
Because 1 million families needed food from a food bank last year, and emergency services are cut while MPs get a 10k pay rise: #CameronMustGo | Because 1 million families needed food from a food bank last year, and emergency services are cut while MPs get a 10k pay rise: #CameronMustGo |
Because he uses stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric to legitimise selling our NHS to his friends: #CameronMustGo | Because he uses stories about his dead son as misty-eyed rhetoric to legitimise selling our NHS to his friends: #CameronMustGo |
For Linda, and all the other people judged fit to work by ATOS etc who subsequently fucking DIED, #CameronMustGo | For Linda, and all the other people judged fit to work by ATOS etc who subsequently fucking DIED, #CameronMustGo |
A number of Tory MPs criticised the food blogger. | A number of Tory MPs criticised the food blogger. |
“This is not just a distasteful tweet, it is sick,” Andrew Rosindell, Tory MP for Romford, told the Daily Mail. | “This is not just a distasteful tweet, it is sick,” Andrew Rosindell, Tory MP for Romford, told the Daily Mail. |
“David and Samantha’s tragic loss of their son has never been used to justify any Government policy.” | “David and Samantha’s tragic loss of their son has never been used to justify any Government policy.” |
He called for Monroe to withdraw her comments “immediately”. | He called for Monroe to withdraw her comments “immediately”. |
Sarah Wollaston, Tory chairman of the Commons health select committee, branded the tweets “heartless” and “disgusting”. | Sarah Wollaston, Tory chairman of the Commons health select committee, branded the tweets “heartless” and “disgusting”. |
“What would The Guardian say about an MP who made such a disgusting and heartless comment? | “What would The Guardian say about an MP who made such a disgusting and heartless comment? |
“Would they call for them to be sacked? She should immediately apologise… or The Guardian should decide if she should go.’” | “Would they call for them to be sacked? She should immediately apologise… or The Guardian should decide if she should go.’” |
However, Monroe was not without her own supporters: | However, Monroe was not without her own supporters: |
We should be grateful to Jack Monroe. She has merely highlighted the spite, bitterness and class-war ideology that drives the left-wing. | We should be grateful to Jack Monroe. She has merely highlighted the spite, bitterness and class-war ideology that drives the left-wing. |
People are about as offended by Jack Monroe's comments as they are about a photo of a white van. They just don't like her politics | People are about as offended by Jack Monroe's comments as they are about a photo of a white van. They just don't like her politics |
This isn’t the first time Monroe has taken a Conservative politician to task so publicly. The writer branded Edwina Curry “scum” after the former MP accused Monroe of lying about her family background in a heated televised debate on the benefits system. “Poverty can happen to anyone,” she wrote in an open letter to Curry published in The Guardian. “That’s why I unsettle you and your cronies. Because the Tory party rhetoric of ‘work hard and get on’ can fall apart in the blink of an eyelid. I worked hard. I got on. And I still spent a year and a half scrabbling around in a festering pit of depression, joblessness, benefit delays and suspensions, hunger, and the entrenching, gut wrenching fear that I was failing as a parent. | |
“I’ve never claimed anywhere that my family were 'poor”'. They weren’t 'rich' either. I’m not really sure what they were, which I guess makes them quite ordinary.” | “I’ve never claimed anywhere that my family were 'poor”'. They weren’t 'rich' either. I’m not really sure what they were, which I guess makes them quite ordinary.” |
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