Food bank use has soared in one of London’s wealthiest areas, Parliament has been told.
Ben Coleman, the new MP for Chelsea and Fulham, hailed in his maiden speech in the Commons the attractions of this affluent part of west London.
“But against all this, I am afraid there is trouble in paradise,” he stressed.
“Alongside the great wealth in Chelsea and Fulham, there is also painful poverty.”
The former Deputy Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council praised local charities who provide “essential support” to the many people in need.
He emphasised: “The food bank that serves Fulham today feeds more people in one month than it did in the whole of 2012, when it started.
“At the food bank that serves Chelsea, demand has gone up by 800 per cent since it opened its doors in 2018.
“People who are in work are using food banks, as well as children and pensioners.
“The demand for them is growing, and poverty, locally and nationally, is made much worse by the persistent inequalities, both in Chelsea and Fulham and across our country, not least of race and disability.”
The new MP told how Phil Storey, who runs the food bank that serves Fulham, had said to him: “We want to stop people ever needing food banks. The day we can close our doors because we are no longer needed is the day I dream of.”
Mr Coleman, who won the seat from Tory Greg Hands by just 152 votes at the July 4 election, declared: “I make this pledge to my constituents.
“As the Member of Parliament for Chelsea and Fulham, working with the Labour Government, I will do all I can to strengthen our economy, to build a fairer, safer and kinder society, and to bring Phil’s dream closer to reality.”
In my maiden speech in the @HouseofCommons, I make this pledge to the residents of Chelsea and Fulham: I will work with the Labour government to build a stronger economy and a fairer, safer and kinder society – one where we strive to make food banks a thing of the past. pic.twitter.com/YVmIlgbQ1K
— Ben Coleman (@ChelFulhamBen) July 24, 2024
Food bank use has grown dramatically in many other parts of the country, with the Trussell Trust now running a network of more than 1,300 such centres, with hundreds more operated by independent groups and charities.
The new Government is also coming under growing pressure to act swiftly on tackling poverty including by axing the two child benefit cap which is hitting many communities including London’s East End.
Mr Coleman, a former business consultant, also criticised Thames Water for “constantly dumping” sewage into the Thames by Chelsea and Fulham.
He said: “Last week alone, it just chucked the stuff in for nearly 24 hours. There has been no regulation and no proper controls over the last 14 years.”
He also stressed that his constituency was “enriched by a diverse community”.
He explained: “We have people from African-Caribbean, Somali, Arab and European backgrounds.
“Indeed, the French MP for Northern Europe...told me that two thirds of all the French in this country live in my area and the area represented by my hon. Friend the Member for Kensington and Bayswater (Joe Powell), so it is quite a French area as well.”
After the turmoil of the Brexit years, he added: “We are focusing on growing our economy and we are, thank goodness, resetting our European relationships, which is very much welcomed by my constituents, Chelsea and Fulham is one of the most pro-European constituencies in the country.”
