Skip to main content
Poverty, wonder-working and turnips
With the cost-of-living crisis showing no signs of abating, LYNNE WALSH talks to women about their experiences with foodbanks and ‘managing finances’ – and discovers some pathbreaking work on poverty being carried out by the Smallwood Trust

CURRENT statistics on poverty in the UK make grim reading, with trying to digest the bad news exacerbated by a government minister’s “let them eat turnips” advice.

The gaffe-prone Therese Coffey, secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, claimed in the Commons that food shortages were short-lived, and meanwhile we should “cherish” seasonal root vegetables. 

Coming from a parliamentarian who benefits from her workplace’s heavily subsidised restaurant menus, this clearly stuck in the public’s craw.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Lynne Walsh piece webpic.jpg
Features / 22 April 2025
22 April 2025

LYNNE WALSH previews the Bristol Radical History Conference this weekend

REMARKABLE: The Danish writer Karen Blixen as a recipient of
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
With most of recorded history dominated by the voices of men, LYNNE WALSH encourages sisters to read the memoirs of women – and to write their own too
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
LYNNE WALSH attempts to unravel the latest advice from local authorities on tackling violence against women and girls
A unit of the Bulgarian International Brigade, 1937
Features / 25 January 2025
25 January 2025
Anti-fascists from around the world will soon be travelling to Spain to commemorate the International Brigades and walk in the footsteps of the bravest of their generation, writes LYNNE WALSH
Similar stories
LET HISTORY INSPIRE US: Suffragettes are paraded through the
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
Despite progress made on the shoulders of radical women from the past, the gendered impact of austerity and the cost-of-living crisis requires bold action from Labour to address inequality, says REBECCA LONG-BAILEY MP
International Women's Day 2025 / 8 March 2025
8 March 2025
ALI MORRIS explains how a team of experts are providing support to local authorities assisting women in exiting prostitution
A woman showing signs of depression (picture posed by a mode
Features / 14 October 2024
14 October 2024
PROFESSOR LINDA GASK spoke to Ruth Hunt from her home in Orkney about her new book, Out of Her Mind: How We Are Failing Women’s Mental Health and What Must Change
A Chartist mosaic in Rogerstone, Newport
Features / 13 September 2024
13 September 2024
LYNNE WALSH reports from the recent ‘Chartism Day’ conference at Reading University, where sisters of the 19th century Chartist struggle emerged from the pages of history