Whaley Bridge’s Edwina sparks more controversy

As reported, the former Conservative politician sparked controversy last month when she claimed the service perpetuated users’ problems, who mainly spent their money on dog food and tattoos.

The former MP, who recently appeared on Channel 5’s The Big Benefits Row: Live alongside poverty campaigner Jack Monroe, accused the journalist of being: “a rich girl pretending to be poor”.

Jack responded in an article last week, saying: “I was alone, with nobody to ‘pretend’ to. You become adept at keeping up appearances, at smiling and saying you’re fine. It was almost a year before I was referred to a food bank for help, almost a year of searching for work, holding my home and my son together at the seams with an iron will.”

The former junior health minister also cut across the writer on the show to talk about Jack’s grandfather’s circumstances.

Last week, she retaliated: “I wanted to say that poverty is almost indescribable to Edwina and co with their blinkered, self-righteous attitudes. My grandfather ran some guest houses in Southend. I’ve no idea how much Edwina thinks my grandad was worth.”