Un Rapporteur Sees Foodbank Britain

[bainbrig]

The UN rapporteur responsible for reporting to the United Nations on different countries’ poverty levels has condemned Foodbank Britain.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/08/life-on-the-poverty-frontline-un-turns-its-gaze-on-uk

This is an objective, non-partisan view, which will enrage those who believe there is no poverty here, and outrage those of us who know that there IS.

Can we ignore the UN?

[johnk]

What's a rapporteur?

[emmie]

No we can't, they went to some of the country's hotspots like Jaywick Sands and found a level of poverty there to be ashamed of. It used to be a popular holiday destination but has fallen completely on hard times.

[emmie]

we should be looking after some of these people, falling on hard times isn't a good thing at all. It;s what i meant before about looking after our own..

[rowanwitch]

Of course there is poverty, but probably in every civilised country there are people falling through the net. We don't need the UN to tell us that. Perhaps if we could be exempted from peacekeeping duties for a while we could spend the money on our own citizens

[emmie]

i did watch some of the piece on the news, not good that's for sure, one wonders how they got so low down the scale.

[naomi24]

//This is an objective, non-partisan view//

Really? Strange then that the report mentions Ghana, Saudi Arabia, China and Mauritania, but ignores the 3.5 million people who use food banks in France, the 1.5 million in Germany, the 4 million in Australia, together with the foodbanks in the Netherlands, the USA, and many other western nations.

Can’t help suspecting there’s just a smidgeon of an agenda at work here.

[emmie]

could be, that's shocking by the way, those statistics are very worrying. Australia you always consider a land of plenty, but perhaps it's the aboriginal population who always seem to get bad press who are at the forefront of
foodbanks, who knows?

[douglas9401]

A rapporteur, John, is a reporter.

Naomi, I'm rapporting that post. 'Agenda', the very idea!

[naomi24]

Douglas, and why not indeed? Rapport is your forte! ;o)

[KARL]

Shoot the messenger

[youngmafbog]

"This is an objective, non-partisan view"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha, made my day that one - It's a cracker!

"Can we ignore the UN?"

Yup. Entirely a wasteful useless lefty liberal quango.

[naomi24]

Karl, //Shoot the messenger //

"This is an objective, non-partisan view" - that's the messenger's own message.

[cassa333]

You will find poverty in every country in the world.

Sometimes it is poverty of their own making often not. And there will always be those that unfortunately fall through the net.

As already said, we don’t need to be told we need to stop giving money away and spend it nearer home.

[Spicerack]

The last one came from the Favelas to say our housing was crap.
They are paid to fly around the world finding problems.....so they do.

[youngmafbog]

Ah, but define poverty.

It's all about context.

[naomi24]

I get the impression that when bainbrig posted this he had hopes of the reader hastily and guiltily donning the hair shirt. Well that didn't work, did it.

[Spicerack]

It's early days, Naomi. His marxist friends will be getting out of bed in an hour or four.

[Kromovaracun]

Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Institute for Fiscal Studies have both found an increase in the number of people living below the poverty line and in particular an increase in child poverty within the last 3-5 years. This is not a problem that can be dismissed.

[ToraToraTora]

no one in this country is starving unless they want to be. They've all got money to smoke, have a smart phone etc. We pay very generous benefits to all and sundry. Have you seen Calais? It's full of economic migrants trying to get to wonderful ole England.

[ToraToraTora]

if we have so many poor of our own we should stop giving 0.7% of GDP to foreign "aid" then, would you be happy with that BB?