This lunchtime Boris Johnson performed a U-turn on free school meals over the summer holidays. Following a campaign led by the England striker Marcus Rashford calling for the free school meal voucher system for low-income families to be extended over the summer, a ‘Covid summer food fund’ is to be set up which will see those eligible get a six-week voucher.
For many the big question isn’t ‘why has the government U-turned?’ but ‘why did the government take so long to U-turn?’. An increasing number of Tory MPs had come to see it as inevitable as the story looked set to dominate the news and attract criticism from all sides. The popularity of the personality pushing for this meant it was a story that had cut through well beyond the Westminster bubble. The issue was set to come to a head this afternoon with Labour pushing for a vote on it – that would have led to potential rebellions and embarrassing scenes for Conservative MPs. By moving now that has been avoided.
Part of the reluctance to change path until now goes down to concerns in Downing Street about agreeing to new policies that will become permanent. While this has been framed as a specific measure in response to the financial difficulty brought on this summer by the coronavirus pandemic, ministers believe it could be hard to row back in future years.
The change – and the unease in the party in the build up to the U-turn – highlights a growing problem the Treasury faces as a result of its coronavirus response. Many Tory MPs questioned why the government was refusing to spend £120 million bringing in free school meals when they have spent record levels in recent months that make that sum seem like a drop in the ocean by comparison. A similar argument was used by backbenchers in the build-up to the NHS surcharge U-turn last month. Expect to hear it more in the difficult months ahead.
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