NEARLY one million children in harsh lockdown will not get free school meals during the holidays, alarming stats reveal.
Needy kids stuck in Tier 2 and 3 lockdown face a “double whammy” of seeing their parents’ jobs plunged into doubt and their lunches snatched away.
The alarming numbers come as MPs on Wednesday will vote on Marcus Rashford’s bid to extend free school meals during the holidays.
Labour will seize on the popular footballer’s campaign to try to stick the boot in to Boris Johnson.
Rashford took to Twitter to urge politicians to put aside their rivalries and back free lunches for poor kids in today’s Commons vote.
He wrote: “MPs will vote on holiday provision – I’ve spoken to a number of MPs who I know care.
“Whilst I don’t agree with another sticking plaster method, these children do need protecting during the upcoming holidays.
“If your MP doesn’t deem providing vulnerable children with vital food resources a priority then you must ask yourself why.”
Labour have seized on the row to try to score political points against the PM.
They are pushing the debate to a vote – effectively daring Tories to vote down the measure.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “This vote is about our values as a country and whether the government, in the middle of this crisis, is happy to let our children go hungry.”
She added: “No child in our country should be waking up hungry and having to face the day worrying where food might be coming from.
“But if Tory MPs don’t do the right thing today this vital support will be withdrawn next week and over 1.4 million children across our country will go hungry.”
Out of the 1.4 million kids eligible for free school meals, 900,000 of them live in Tier 1 or 2 lockdown areas.
These areas, which include London, Greater Manchester and Liverpool, are seeing their economies battered by the Covid curbs.
Labour frontbencher Tulip Siddiq has written to Tory backbenchers urging them to defy the PM and vote for the motion.
But Downing Street insists they will not budge.
A No10 spokesman said: “We took that decision to extend free school meals during the pandemic when schools were partially closed during lockdown.
“We’re in a different position now with schools back open to all pupils.
“It’s not for schools to regularly provide food to pupils during the school holidays. We believe the best way to support families outside of term time is through Universal Credit rather than Government subsidising meals.”
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