A Nottinghamshire MP has questioned the existence of food poverty and said the UK will only have a full economic crisis once Wetherspoons pubs are empty. Conservative MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, has criticised the UK's "generous" benefits system, parents who let their kids go hungry and food banks, claiming people can cook meals from scratch for just 30p a day.
The Conservative MP has also called on his supporters to not pay their TV licence fees, and said those who want to buy a home need to knuckle down and work seven days a week. Mr Anderson claimed queues in pubs and packed football stadiums show things are not as bad as experts say, reports The Daily Mirror.
During the party conference in Birmingham, the 55 year old said: "Go in any Wetherspoons, that's the barometer of how this country is doing, when Wetherspoons is empty we've got a big problem." He then accused the media of fearmongering, telling his audience that "whenever we put the TV on people are telling us how poor we are."
