Morecambe MP stirs row after doubting poverty claims by local schools

A row is brewing between a Conservative MP and some of his Lancashire constituents after he suggested that claims by teachers about extreme poverty at local schools were untrue.

A report by ITV earlier this week went viral after it showed schools where teachers said they had to wash their pupils’ uniforms because their families couldn’t afford to pay the electricity bills.

One primary school, West End primary, said it sometimes gave coats and shoes to pupils whose parents could not provide them. Meanwhile, a local GP spoke of treating children for rickets, a condition usually seen in developing countries.

But David Morris, the MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, responded to the reports by posting a call for social services to investigate on Facebook. “These claims are not those being experienced by myself or the jobcentre in the area and I would urge anyone affected to book an appointment with the staff at Morecambe jobcentre to assess if they are receiving all of the benefits they are entitled to,” he wrote.

Morris added that the claims “always seem to emanate from the same primary schools and Ash Trees surgery in Carnforth”.

He later told ITV: “I’ve not got issues with the report that you’ve run, I’m just questioning the validity of it … [the schools featured] have very strong links to Momentum, and to be quite frank, all the indicators from Ofsted say that the child poverty at that school is absolutely no different to any other in the country.”

Previously, Siobhan Collingwood, a headteacher at Morecambe Bay primary school, said: “We’ve had parents pass out in the school hall just through going without meals themselves. We’ve helped them to join in with the breakfasts that are available within school. We’ve taken them as well to food banks.”

Last summer, Collingwood was accused by Morris of having a political agenda and trying to oust him from his seat. Both schools in the report have denied links to Momentum and say their work has never been political.

Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, said: “For 15 years I worked for children’s charities and I’ve never seen an MP show such blatant disregard for vulnerable children in their constituency.

“That David Morris has tried to cover up children going hungry and suffering from Victorian diseases such as rickets is shocking. That he’d do it by smearing Momentum and implying that local schools are lying is even worse.”

Parker claimed the issue told a wider story “about a Conservative party which simply doesn’t care about the daily struggle many working-class families face” and suggested Morris “considers his position” following the developments.

Amid claims that Morris has blocked people online who have questioned his statement, Morecambe residents are using the hashtag #blockedbydavidmorris and have started a Facebook group to air their grievances.

“I guess I’m blocked too!” Collingwood posted online. “Anyway the response from the community today, and I suspect beyond, has reduced my staff and I to tears on several occasions. Thank you everybody, the children of Morecambe Bay school and West End school are very grateful for your kindness and generosity.”

Morris said this was because “most of the postings are from Momentum trolls all across the country”, according to a local paper.

“My Facebook site is an information site,” he said. “It is not a billboard for trolls to put silliness on there. Some of those trolls – the local ones – are actually being investigated by the police for abuse.”

The Morecambe and Lunesdale Labour party said in a statement that Morris “does not see what is happening on his own watch because on the rare occasions he is here, he refuses to engage with the community and attacks teachers and doctors for being ‘politicised’.”

A spokeswoman for the party said: “In the age of the internet, MPs should use social media to establish meaningful dialogues with their constituents.

“For a long time now, Morris has blocked and banned from his Facebook page those who voice their concerns regarding things that happen in our constituency and speak out about the government’s policies, which he supports. However, Mr Morris has gone beyond blocking and banning his aggrieved constituents and now frequently accuses those who criticise him of being trolls or part of coordinated campaigns against him, often using parliamentary privilege to do so.”

The spokeswoman added that Morris was “yet to provide a shred of evidence to back up his accusations and continues to refuse to acknowledge the genuine concerns of his constituents”.

The Guardian has contacted Morris’s office and the Conservative party for comment.

According to the End Child Poverty group, 5,087 children in Morecambe – about one in four – live in poverty. Morris later announced he had had a “productive meeting” at Morecambe Bay food bank and also with the headteacher of West End school.