Tory MP claims local GPs diagnosing children with rickets are lying due to Momentum-led conspiracy
Conservative MP David Morris has ignited a storm of controversy after openly suggesting that Doctors and Teachers in his Morecambe constituency were lying about the extent of child poverty in the area, and that the claims were simply part of a Momentum-led conspiracy. A recent ITV investigation went viral on social media after teachers in the area claimed that child poverty was so bad that:
They were having to wash pupils' uniforms as parents could not afford their electricity bills
They had witnessed parents passing out in the school hall through malnutrition after missing meals due to lack of money
They had to regularly invite parents to join in with breakfast club in school and take them to food banks
They had to regularly hand out shoes and coats to pupils whose parents could not afford them
Meanwhile, local GP Andy Knox said that he was witnessing a surge in the number of children coming in to his surgery with severe conditions linked to extreme malnourishment, such as rickets - a condition that he said Doctors would not normally expect to diagnose in children within a developed country. However, Morecambe's local Tory MP, David Morris, took to ITV to refute the claims, suggesting that the local Doctors and Teachers who were making the claims were simply part of a Momentum-led smear against him. Speaking with ITV News, Morris said:
I've not got issues with the report that you've run, I'm just questioning the validity of it because the reports always come from either Morecambe Bay Primary School, or another Morecambe Bay School in the West End of Morecambe, and Ash Trees Surgery - both have very strong links to Momentum.
Morris then attempted to justify his belief that Teachers and Doctors in the area were lying about the children they care for by stating that:
All the indicators from OFSTED say that the child poverty at that school is absolutely no different from any other in the country.
https://twitter.com/mattzarb/status/941383192958898179 However, writing on Twitter, a Senior Partner at the Ash Trees Surgery in Morecambe, Dr David Wrigley, vehemently refuted Morris' claims, stating that:
I can categorically state we have NO links to Momentum as he has stated. I would ask Mr Morris to provide solid evidence of this accusation or withdraw his remark.
A separate constituency resident said on Twitter that Tory MP Morris' inexplicable claims that Doctors and Teachers were lying about child poverty were 'the sort of stupidity we're used to from him'.
Whilst another resident said that Morris was 'a grade A clown', going on to state that:
I live in Morecambe and that school is in the most deprived area of my town and the teaching staff should be praised for the work they do.
And speaking to The Guardian, Momentum's National Coordinator, Laura Parker, said:
For 15 years I worked for children’s charities and I’ve never seen an MP show such blatant disregard for vulnerable children in their constituency.
That David Morris has tried to cover up children going hungry and suffering from Victorian diseases such as rickets is shocking. That he’d do it by smearing Momentum and implying that local schools are lying is even worse.
Tin Foil Tory
If a GP was found to have simply invented such serious claims as these, they could be instantly struck of the medical register - whilst teachers also found to be lying about the welfare of the children they care for would face similar punishment that could potentially end their careers. Therefore, for a Tory MP to openly suggest that such highly respected professionals are lying about the welfare of children is utterly incredible. However, Tory MP David Morris knows exactly what he is doing. By making such spurious and outlandish smears against Teachers and Doctors he is simply attempting to shift the focus off of the desperate plight of many youngsters in his area, and away from the obvious fact that the Tories' policy of austerity is literally causing Victorian-era diseases to reemerge. Rather than actually address the valid concerns of respected public servants about the welfare of children, Morris is simply attempting cast suspicion on Doctors and Teachers in the area. However, unfortunately for Morris, the general public aren't stupid, and they won't fall for his desperately crude smear tactics. Rather than having a government that simply shifts the blame onto others or refuses to face up to problems they've created, Britain needs a government which truly puts the people first - one that deals with the most pressing problems we face. In such a rich country as Britain, there is more than enough money to make sure absolutely nobody is in poverty. There is more than enough money to build the houses we need, to educate our kids properly, and to provide meaningful health and social care for all. However, if Britain continues to vote for a party which so obviously puts the wants of the wealthy above the desperate needs of the most vulnerable, we will never see the back of poverty in this country. It really is a simple choice.
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