Save the Children’s UK poverty appeal has come under fire in some corners of the press, which allege the campaign is politically-motivated.
Yesterday, Save the Children UK launched an appeal to the UK public for £500,000 in funds to help Britain’s poorest children. The charity says it is its first appeal for the UK and launched a report on child poverty in Britain alongside it.
The report, which revealed hard-hitting statistics on child poverty, was widely reported in the press. However, today, the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph have spoken to Conservative MPs who feel the campaign and report has a political agenda.
The report reveals the hardships faced by children in Britain, including the revelation that "one in eight of the poorest children in the UK go without at least one hot meal a day, and one in ten of the UK's poorest parents have cut back on food for them to make sure their children have enough to eat".
Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP for Clacton, told the Daily Mail that the report was too simplistic: “This report is about the prejudices of the people who work for this charity.
“It doesn’t tell us what really needs to be done about the welfare system.”
Conservative MP Brian Binley told civilsociety.co.uk he had general concerns as Justin Forsyth, chief executive of Save the Children, had worked for the last Labour government:
“Justin Forsyth is doing very good work with Save the Children,” he said. “But we must be aware of the danger that he was committed to a particular government for a sizeable amount of time.
“We have to be careful that charities are not converting appeals into political agendas.”
In response, Forsyth said: "It is a shame that some critics want to divert attention from the powerful insight our campaign has given into the lives of the very poorest children in Britain today.
"The unusual step we took was to ask children themselves their views. The appeal was based on strong independent polling which told us that some of the poorest families in the UK are struggling without basic essentials like food and heating.
"Save the Children is never party-political - we are a charity - but we do believe it is our responsibility to speak out on behalf of children. We have done this from our founding days when Eglantyne Jebb championed children's rights 90 years ago. The question for our country is whether we can afford to allow the hopes of a generation of children to be wasted.
"This is an urgent issue for all political parties. The UK is one of the richest countries in the world and no child should grow up without daily essentials such as a hot meal, a warm coat or shoes that fit. "
