Peter Lazenby
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UNION activists protested at the offices of a Tory MP on his birthday as thousands of his constituents have been driven into food poverty and debt by government policies he supported.
MP for Workington Mark Jenkinson celebrated his 41st birthday on Saturday.
The protest was organised by union Unite after research for the union revealed that 16,337 people in the Cumbrian town (17 per cent) live in food poverty.
The findings also show 21,142 (22 per cent) have either gone into debt or increased their levels of debt to buy food and 9,610 people (10 per cent) cannot afford to pay their household bills.
Unite said Mr Jenkinson voted in Parliament for benefit cuts, public service cuts and against proposals to tackle corporate tax avoidance, among other issues.
Senior organiser Joe Rollin said: “Amid unacceptable levels of hardship and debt across Workington, Mark Jenkinson consistently fails his constituents by voting against their interests in Parliament.
“The level of food poverty in Workington is scandalous. Mark Jenkinson should be mortified for allowing hunger on this scale to grip the community on his watch.”
Mr Jenkinson, a Ukip councillor before switching to the Conservatives before the 2015 general election, was invited to comment.
Unite is running a nationwide campaign, Unite for a Workers’ Economy, that targets heartland parliamentary constituencies in the run-up to the next general election.
The campaign aims to change and mobilise communities in spots such as Glasgow, Grimsby, Hull, Leigh, Barrow, Workington, Morecambe and Crawley.
