General Election: Priti Patel said the government isn't responsible for poverty | indy100 | indy100

Home Secretary Priti Patel has been criticised for claiming the government is not to blame for poverty.

When asked by the BBC if the government was responsible for "appalling" poverty, Patel said:

Well, it’s not the government though, is it? Everybody just says it’s the government as if it’s this bland blob you can just go and blame. It’s all parts of society and the structures. Local authorities have a role to play, education, public services, which are locally led and locally run.

Poverty has been a big topic in the election campaign so far, following the news that 4 million children are living in poverty in the UK. Labour politicians condemned Patel’s remarks by recalling the impact of government austerity measures, which were announced in 2010.

This video of Priti Patel from this morning, robustly saying *poverty isn’t the government’s fault* is getting dele… https://t.co/Cak90yykjj
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael Swindon) 1574331356

Last year, an study found the North had been the hardest hit by Tory-led government spending cuts.

Think Tank IPPR North found in 2018 that total public spending in the North had fallen by £6.3bn since 2009/10, more than for any other region.

Priti Patel's claims in this video are yet another example of the Tory Government’s cruelty. Local Government has… https://t.co/oS0bH431nf
— John McDonnell MP (@John McDonnell MP) 1574290187

Priti Patel is completely out of touch. I blame austerity for the rise in poverty and I blame this Tory government… https://t.co/dG4MQFQTNu
— Keir Starmer (@Keir Starmer) 1574319740

Pathetic for @patel4witham to blame increases in poverty on local government. Local authorities depend on Westmin… https://t.co/ewSuaivPQc
— David Lammy (@David Lammy) 1574323449

Other people shared the clip widely, criticising Patel’s words and her “smirking” facial expression.

Being callous is bad. Being thick is bad. Being callous & thick is really, really bad. https://t.co/RtKmQg5VMd
— James Oh Brien (@James Oh Brien) 1574323716

Hard right-wing Tory Priti Patel denying the govt - & Tory govt of the last decade - has anything to do with povert… https://t.co/nAlPXH87j0
— Gerry Hassan (@Gerry Hassan) 1574332648

"You can't blame the government for poverty"... says Minister of a party that's seen homelessness and poverty becom… https://t.co/VtzdrMKNVI
— Otto English (@Otto English) 1574291670

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Bizarrely, as the backlash grew, BBC North West’s Twitter account deleted the video.

Deleted. 1 million views on a twitter video from BBC of Priti Patel blaming the poor for being poor has been delet… https://t.co/zx1agIwDY8
— Tory Fibs (@Tory Fibs) 1574329982

This is the clip the BBC deleted from their page. After ten years in power, Priti Patel doesn't think the Conserva… https://t.co/ppzmTO9KKM
— Momentum 🌹 (@Momentum 🌹) 1574332099

Idk why BBC North West deleted this video where Priti Patel insists you can’t blame the government for growing pove… https://t.co/sVkm8Z9iU1
— Ash Sarkar (@Ash Sarkar) 1574332103

But then, some time later, BBC North West tweeted the clip again.

Home Secretary Priti Patel tells @NinaWarhurst that high levels of poverty can't be blamed solely on the government… https://t.co/Y9idCjMSLv
— BBC North West (@BBC North West) 1574332742

indy100 contacted the BBC to ask why the clip was temporarily deleted from social media.

A BBC spokesperson said:

The original Tweet paraphrased the comments in the video as a direct quote. Although that accurately reflected the comments made, for clarity we have removed the quotation marks and reposted the video.

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