LABOUR’S motion in the Commons last week aimed to extend free school meals over the holidays up to and including next Easter was defeated by a callous Tory government.

Reading the pitiful comments of local Tory MPs Rebecca Harris and Sir David Amess makes you realise just how out of touch they are with the real world.

The justification they used to vote against the motion won’t wash, and quoting figures from Conservative Central Office simply makes matters worse.

Here was a chance to ensure that children living in poverty would get immediate help.

Some Essex Tory MPs could not bring themselves to vote against the motion and at least abstained. Let’s hope voters remember how Rebecca Harris and Sir David Amess voted on this issue.

PAUL STREET

High Street, Canvey

READ MORE

Write to us at Echo Newspapers, Echo House, Howard Chase, Basildon, SS14 3BE or email basildon.echo.letters@newsquest.co.uk. Please keep it brief, with your full name and address, which will only be withheld in exceptional circumstances.