Tory Devizes MP and Ex-Merchant Banker Claire Perry Questions Whether 'Poor' Should Have Children

2 Dec 2010

In an astonishing attack on the poor, Claire Perry has suggested that they should not be having children. The ex-merchant banker, who splits her time between a £3.25 million pound property outside of the constituency and a £1 million property in Chelsea, was elected as MP for Devizes in May of this year.

Following Flight's comments, which have rightly angered many, that the welfare system encourages 'breeding' amongst the poor, making the financially less well off sound like cattle, Perry's comment couldn't have been more untimely.

The comments have lead to criticism that Cameron's party has not changed at all and remains, 'The Nasty Party'.

It was in defence of the government's strategy to remove grants paid to all pregnant women that Perry made her outrageous claim.

Currently, pregnant women are entitled to a £190 government pay out to help with the costs of having a child. On a Labour MP arguing that the grant prevented many women being plunged into abject poverty, Perry responded with her outdated, uneducated and judgemental reaction.

"Given that the families are in extreme poverty, should they be having children at that point? Is £190 enough to ensure that that decision is a sensible one? " Perry argued.

Given that 40% of pregnancies, across all socio-economic backgrounds, are unplanned (source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3515400.stm ), what does Claire "I'm a mother of three" Perry suggest people do should they find themselves expecting, whether they be already in poverty or whether women find themselves out of work due to pregnancy?

Obviously, the only way to deal with the 'poor' is to remove their financial security and point the finger of blame firmly with them.

Perry's spokesman has refused to discuss Perry's statement, saying, "We are not going to comment at all".

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