AHEAD of the Autumn Statement I asked Dominic Raab if he would commit to giving the 800,000 children in poverty in households in receipt of universal credit a free school meal.

It is a scandal that children who are classed as being in fuel poverty do not even get a free school meal.

I understand the importance a free school meal can have on families. I received free school meals as a child and relied on family tax credit as a parent before I became an MP. 

My whole family has relied on free school meal provision at various points in our lives.

If more MPs understood what it was like for families struggling in poverty at the moment, we would see a very different budget tomorrow.

It is a national disgrace that in the sixth richest country in the world we have millions in food poverty — 39 per cent of children in my constituency are living in poverty; hungry kids.

I am a regular visitor to the food banks in my constituency and run a monthly surgery at one of them — seeing people in my constituency in tears because they cannot feed their kids is sickening, knowing that could easily be me had I not left my job at Royal Mail to stand as an MP.

This government is failing all of us — but the consequences on the health and future for our kids are disastrous. Hungry kids struggle to concentrate at school, hungry kids have increased health and development issues.

No child should be sitting in school feeling hunger pains. The great Ellen Wilkinson told the Jarrow Marchers in 1936 as they set off for London: “Tell the government our people shall not starve.”

In 2022 I am here to tell this Tory government the same thing. Our children shall not starve because of their political choices. 

But it’s a battle to achieve anything. They do not care about our kids. Raab proved that with his response — he said that the number one priority was growth and that they “won’t be able” to keep children from being hungry!

Is he really saying hungry kids are a price worth paying for their Tory chaos?

It is heartbreaking. The government must do more. Poverty is a political choice, and hundreds of thousands of hungry children are facing the consequence of the Tories’ failures.

Yet we know the budget won’t help our struggling communities.

This government are looking to slash budgets further, leaving local authorities and schools with less and less to support our children and communities. 

The last government’s budgetary plans crashed our economy, mortgage offers have been withdrawn — those with mortgages paying hundreds more.

Since the Tories came to power in 2010 the number of people in in-work poverty has increased by two million. 

Families struggling to pay rent increases, spiralling energy bills and food prices — the impact of the Tory-made cost-of-living crisis is clear for all to see.

The government are repeatedly letting down our communities, up and down the country. We are seeing more and more people take industrial action, unable to cope with the lowest wage growth on record. Thousands of workers standing up and saying to this government: enough is enough.

It doesn’t have to be like this — these are all political choices.

It is vital that in the budget announcement, Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt commit to extending eligibility of free school meals to all children of families in receipt of universal credit as a start, as well as committing to urgent investment in our communities, in public services, in our NHS — but we know they won’t.

So it is up to us to fight back — workers, communities, trade unions and activists demanding change. Yes, we need a general election — but our communities need saving now.

Kate Osborne is Labour MP for Jarrow.