Contribution
For many of my constituents in Liverpool West Derby, the cost of living crisis means a daily struggle to keep the heating on, pay the rent and put food on the table. I welcome any measures that ease that struggle, and the direction of travel from the Budget last week was really welcome, but “breathing space” is nowhere near enough when 14 million people are struggling to put a meal on the table tonight. People need to see a credible plan to improve their living standards and tackle the shameful poverty and hunger that we see across the country.
The Trussell Trust reports that between 2024-25 and 2026-27, the number of people experiencing severe hardship grew by 500,000. That included 115,000 children, and there would have been more, but thankfully we scrapped the two-child cap. We cannot ask families to keep making sacrifices while offering them so little prospect of things getting better. We see the unrest across Europe as a result of this feeling of hopelessness with politics and politicians. The Prime Minister has, thankfully and rightly, identified the damage caused by 40 years of neo-liberal politics. Reversing the damage requires true radical action on a scale that matches the hardships that our communities face, and nowhere is that damage highlighted more than around our kitchen tables.
In September, the Right to Food UK Commission published its final report. We heard evidence from across the United Kingdom—from communities speaking directly to us. What we heard should really shame this House. We heard about parents missing meals so that children can eat, people in work relying on food banks, and families choosing between heating their homes and feeding themselves. At a community session in London, a stone’s throw from this Chamber, one woman put it in three words: “Rent eats first”. The rent is paid, then the energy bills and then the debts. Food is whatever is left. That is the plight of millions in all our communities.
The commission’s central finding is clear: people are going hungry because they cannot afford the food that is available. Low wages, inadequate social security and the rising cost of essentials are leaving families without enough to live on. These are failures of policy that require political action. The question is no longer whether we can afford a right to food; it is whether we can afford to carry on without one. In Liverpool, a woman giving evidence said simply:
“A right to food is a right to exist.”
She was spot on, because we are already paying for failure. Updated analysis from the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission puts the wider economic and social costs of Britain’s unhealthy food system at £298 billion a year—up from £268 billion two years ago. That includes more than £100 billion in direct costs across healthcare, social care and welfare, alongside the enormous costs of lost productivity and diminished quality of life. Those figures cover the wider unhealthy food system, so tackling food insecurity and making healthy diets affordable must be absolutely central to the Government’s mission.
We pay through our taxes, our public services, our health and the opportunities denied to our children. The question is whether we carry on accepting these costs, or invest in preventing them. Alongside the wider reforms that we need, the Right to Food UK Commission has set out an initial package of practical measures, including universal free school meals, holiday food provision, and proper funding for community kitchens and hubs. Our initial asks are fully costed, with funding identified through tax reforms put forward by Lord Prem Sikka. We have set out what needs to be done, what it would cost and how it could be paid for. Whether the Government choose to act is now a question of political will.
The Right to Food UK Commission’s modelling estimates that we could create about £100 billion-worth of wider economic and social benefits over two decades. That includes improvements in health, education and people’s ability to participate in society. Behind those calculations are outcomes that every Member of this House should want: children arriving at school ready to learn, parents able to feed their families without skipping meals, and fewer people developing avoidable illnesses. These are investments that can improve and lengthen people’s lives. That is why the commission calls for a statutory right to food, backed by resources, clear duties and accountability. It means clear legal duties on the Government and independent scrutiny, so that Departments cannot pass responsibility between themselves while families continue to go hungry.
Members from across the House have joined me in calling for a right to food in the next King’s Speech. I ask the Government to listen, work with the Right to Food UK Commission, and commit to the legislation needed to deliver lasting change. Hunger really is a political choice. The Government have the power and responsibility to end it and give millions, in every postcode, hope again in politics.