This is a second victory for Marcus Rashford. The UK government has promised to provide children from underprivileged families with free meals during the Christmas holidays and thereafter, announced Sunday, November 8 the star striker of Mancheter United, leader of the campaign waged in this direction.
In the UK, the poorest children get free meals during school time, but not during holidays. Faced with the difficult economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, the 23-year-old footballer called on the government to feed more than a million children for free during school holidays.
Marcus Rashford claims to have received a phone call from Boris Johnson on Saturday, just after his club’s victory against Everton (3-1) in the Premier League, in which the British Prime Minister announced to him that the government would finally release funds.
“I had a good conversation with the Prime Minister to better understand the plan he was proposing, and I applaud these measures that have been taken to fight against child food poverty”, said the footballer in a statement. Marcus Rashford had already made the government back down by forcing it to extend this free meal program during the summer, put in place during the confinement and closure of schools.
Boris Johnson’s new about-face
Boris Johnson’s decision constitutes a new about-face in this affair. The government had in fact refused in October to extend these free meals during the All Saints holidays. But Marcus Rashford’s campaign struck a chord with many Britons, especially in the run-up to Christmas, and the government has repeatedly found itself accused of insensitivity in the newspapers.
The Minister for Work and Pensions, Therese Coffey, announced Sunday morning that an additional 170 million pounds (188 million euros) would be released to finance this program during the Christmas period 2020, then for the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays 2021. “We want to make sure that vulnerable people feel taken care of throughout this difficult time, she said, and, above all, that no one goes hungry or unable to pay their bills this winter ”.
The footballer from the north of England, where he himself grew up in poverty, said to himself ” very proud “ of those who had supported his campaign, promising to “Fight for the rest of [sa] life “ to prevent little Britons from going hungry.
