From the Revd Brian Cranwell
Sir, - Few things are more irritating than the assumption often
made, as in Dr Andrew Connell's letter (22 May), that
because foodbanks have become widely spread during the past decade,
they are a response to a need that has not previously existed, and
are therefore a sign of incompetence by this Government.
My father was unemployed in the 1930s, but was eventually, in or
around 1936, taken on by his local authority. The appointment was
made around the beginning of November, to begin on the first of
January in the New Year. His dole money was stopped immediately he
received the appointment letter. As the local authority paid
monthly, he received nothing until his first pay cheque after more
than ten weeks.
Consequently, to keep his family fed and housed, he had to
borrow from friends and acquaintances. He did not get clear of debt
until the late 1940s. There were no foodbanks, though I wish there
had been. Our main shopping was done on late Saturday evenings,
going around just as shops with perishable foods were closing, and
would accept an offer to take perishables off their hands. One
Christmas Eve, I bought a Christmas tree myself at 8 p.m. with
money from a paper round. It was labelled 17s.
6d. The greengrocer accepted my 2s.
There is no such thing as an organisation or government totally
competent or incompetent in every aspect of its operations. What
was common ground for my father's borrowing and the foodbanks was
that others in the community recognised his need and helped him
out, albeit with loans that he repaid. The foodbanks are a similar
recognition of need by the community, without the repayment
burden.
I doubt whether foodbanks will ever be redundant, since there
will always be some who don't fit into the system and need help, or
whom the system penalises ineptly.
BRIAN CRANWELL,
9 West View Close,
Sheffield S17 3LT
From the Revd Paul Greenland
Sir, - Your leader comment (15 May) says: "Mr Cameron
will need to work hard to gain the people's trust." The fact is
that, contrary to some bishops' wishes, Mr Cameron has been given
the people's trust at the General Election to form a government,
and in the same way, the people have chosen not to give their trust
to Ed Miliband.
Did the people currently calling for "the new Government to be
held to account" and "for a change in the electoral system" shout
as loudly for these things at the Labour government after its
victory in 1997?
I am not a supporter of any one political party, but I believe
in democracy. The people have spoken, a new Government has been
formed, and they deserve our support and prayers. "Some people
voted Tory. Get over it!"
PAUL GREENLAND,
The Vicarage 88 Chignal Road,
Chelmsford,
Essex CM1 2JB