Katie Roche's Blog

Jack Monroe Investigation: Part Two

Introduction

This is a follow-up to my previous post. It’s been several months since I wrote it. So much has happened. It has been hard to keep up. Every time I was nearly done, there’d be another big development in the story.

I was surprised so many people read the original post. I knew it was long and the references make it difficult to read. But I needed the references for two reasons. First, to be taken seriously. Unlike screenshots, archived links to Jack Monroe’s actual words can’t be edited. While I have no doubts that AwfullyMolly’s screenshots are genuine and unedited, part of the reason for writing my post was to sway anyone who wasn’t quite convinced. Second, I was worried about Monroe taking legal action against me. England and Wales’s libel laws are very strict. The onus is on the publisher to prove their claims are true.

Also, I didn’t want to imitate AwfullyMolly. She has done a fantastic job of presenting her investigation in a reader-friendly format. I envision most people will read her work first, and then read mine and other people’s if they have doubts or want to learn more. Although, I’m still considering making a more reader-friendly post in the future. For now, this post will be in the same format as my previous post.

The reasons for writing this post are:

1. To give an update on recent events.
2. To convince anyone who hasn’t been convinced yet.
3. To respond to some comments and questions.

The truth about Monroe is finally getting out. But it hasn’t reached everyone. Monroe is still lauded for her work. Indeed, she recently won Grocer magazine’s Hero of the Year (1), in spite of her morally questionable conduct.

What Happened Since?

A lot has happened since the previous post. Monroe has left and reactivated her Twitter at least twice. She has also published a new book, called Thrifty Kitchen (2). AwfullyMolly has posted more updates. Including that Monroe charges between £10,000 and £15,000 for speaking engagements (3). That means if she does two or three speeches, she’s earned the average UK annual salary. If anyone were in any doubts over Jack Monroe’s financial situation, that tells you everything you need to know.

Also, several media outlets have reported on Monroe, including The Daily Mail (4), Blocked and Reported (5), Sunday Woman (6) and The Critic (7).

Patreon

Readers of my previous post will remember the Patreon saga. Monroe ran a Patreon page and didn’t give her subscribers the promised rewards. She also refused to refund subscribers who complained about not getting the rewards. At last, in January, Monroe refunded some Patreon subscribers (8). She has only done this after long-standing criticism. However, it appears she still hasn’t sent any rewards.

The Guardian Article

Another recent development is her interview in The Guardian with Simon Hattenstone (9), which was published in January. The interview is clearly very sympathetic to Monroe.

At first glance, this article explains many of the inconsistencies that I, AwfullyMolly and various other people have found. For example, she explains that her parents didn’t know she was in poverty because she advertised the infamous house sale while they were away. She said she intended to keep her hardship concealed from them. But she did an interview with her local newspaper about the sale and her financial problems five days after the sale (10). She also did an interview with Sunday People later in the same year. This interview featured a photograph of Monroe holding her son (11a). This doesn’t seem like the actions of someone trying to hide they are in poverty. Even if her parents don’t read the local paper, they will almost certainly know someone who does. It’s also interesting that Monroe’s father, David Hadjicostas is quoted in 14 different articles in the Southend Echo (12), often commenting on various local stories. Does that sound like someone who doesn’t keep up with local news?

Throughout the interview, the typical Monroe tropes appear. Monroe’s string of minority identities are invoked as reasons for her unpopularity. When the subject turned to her Patreon, she brought up her struggles with her physical and mental health. She told Hattenstone that she had still been struggling with alcoholism, as well as a tramadol addiction. At this point, Monroe confessed that she had spent much of the Patreon money on alcohol. She further claimed that she drunkenly purchased expensive sideboards that she had no space for. (A Cotswolds Company sideboard was talked a lot about on Tattler and Mumsnet. This sideboard is believed to cost in the region of £1000).

After this confession, it’s easy to take pity on Monroe. Then again, it’s doubtful many people in other walks of life could admit to spending money donated to them on alcohol or drunken purchases, and still receive sympathy. Indeed, if Monroe were in paid employment and she didn’t do her work, or spent company money on alcohol or drugs, she would be dismissed.

Teemill

A further development in the story has been the closure of her Teemill shop. For many months, people enquired of what happened to the money that Monroe donated from the Teemill that didn’t go to the Trussell Trust. On 31st October 2022, she revealed that the fundraiser made £286.86. She had given the money to Southend Vineyard Storehouse, a church-based charity in Southend (13). Monroe gave the excuse that she hadn’t closed the Teemill sooner because she was “new to this”. Bear in mind that Monroe has been in the public eye for over 10 years, and she has done various fundraisers. Also, remember that the fundraiser began in February and the first lot of money was donated to the Trussell Trust in March (14). While she did the right thing eventually, this episode still shows problems with her conduct. Why didn’t she show this in the first place? As well, the date was hidden on the screenshot. Why? And why did she show a screenshot of the donation rather than a screenshot of the Teemill takings? Her screenshot proves she gave £286.86 to charity. It doesn’t show how much the Teemill raised. Bear in mind that the fundraiser made £5000 in the first 24 hours (15). Although it didn’t receive the same attention after the £10,000 target was hit, less than £300 in seven months is a huge drop.

Debunking the Myth of Monroe

According to her supporters, Monroe is a fantastic activist who’s achieved great things for people in poverty in the UK. But are they right to think this? This section will examine the misconceptions about Monroe.

“Jack Monroe has changed how inflation is calculated”

In January 2022, Monroe hailed a victory after ONS (Office for National Statistics) announced changes to the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated. She tweeted a link to a press release from the ONS, along with the comments:

“Delighted to be able to tell you that the @ONS have just announced that they are going to be changing the way they collect and report on the cost of food prices and inflation to take into consideration a wider range of income levels and household circumstances” (16,17)

The press release said two things: neither of which were what Monroe claimed. First, the ONS said they will now collect data on pricing directly from supermarket checkouts. Second, the ONS said that they would resume publishing inflation rates for different income groups (18). Regarding the first point, the ONS had planned to change the data collection method before the pandemic, but they put it on hold until afterwards. Presumably, this method of data collection wasn’t technologically feasible until recent years. Especially if some data comes from independent retailers. As for the second point, the press release notes that the ONS have calculated inflation rates for each income decile since 2003. The ONS suspended this data collection over lockdown because many items used for comparison weren’t available. Neither of these things had anything to do with Monroe’s comments.

Nevertheless, Monroe has a point. The ONS’s data has consistently shown that poorer someone is, the higher inflation is for them (19). This is a problem because benefits are raised in line with the CPI headline figure when this rate may not account for higher inflation amongst low-income households. Part of this disparity is by design. The headline inflation figure aims to represent the median household. Furthermore, the method used for weighting household spending patterns means that high-expenditure households yield a disproportionate influence over the headline inflation figure (20). The methodology for calculating inflation is designed to allow comparison with other countries (21). So, the ONS can’t change how inflation is measured because activists demand it.

However, Monroe is wrong to take credit for ONS’s changes. An unnamed person did a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the ONS. According to the FOI, someone from the ONS had an informal conversation with her, where no notes were taken. The FOI emphasised that the ONS had consulted with many other stakeholders in a similar fashion (22). From the FOI, it appears Monroe had very little influence on the ONS’s inflation calculation methodology. If any at all.

“Jack Monroe got ASDA to bring back their budget brand”

Another example of Monroe taking credit for something she didn’t do is with the ASDA Just Essentials range. In January 2022, Monroe had claimed that ASDA was trying to abolish their budget brand, Smart Price, because they stocked fewer Smart Price products than they did in the past (23). Later that year, ASDA launched a new value brand: Just Essentials. I suspect ASDA were trying to get rid of the last of the Smart Price products before the new Just Essentials ones arrived. Once the Just Essentials line was launched, Monroe posted a spoof “complaint” on Twitter. She joked that she could buy too much for less than £20 from the new range (24). She then said that ASDA were “literally quietly saving lives” by selling these products (25).

The idea of ASDA abolishing their value range doesn’t make sense. Since the cost-of-living crisis started, sales of value brand products have greatly increased (26,27). Why would ASDA do away with this line at a time when they’re selling so well? Remember that ASDA or other supermarkets don’t have a value range because they’re concerned about food poverty. It’s about marketing. ASDA launched Smart Price after seeing the success of Tesco Value in the 1990s(28). If value brands didn’t make a profit, no supermarket would sell them. Also, supermarket brands have a higher profit margin than branded products, even though they are cheaper for the customer (29). ASDA aren’t selling cheap products out of the goodness of their heart. They sell them for a profit.

This highlights a serious problem with Monroe: she sits uneasily between activist and influencer. If Monroe gives advice, is it Monroe the activist giving her honest opinion? Or is it Monroe the influencer, who can’t upset major brands because it would damage her career?

Monroe’s political opinions have lost her jobs before. In 2014, Monroe was dropped from Sainsbury’s Christmas advertising campaign after making comments about David Cameron’s dead son, Ivan Cameron (30). Monroe had accused Cameron of exploiting his son’s death to justify NHS privatisation. Although, since 2014, what customers expect from large corporations has changed. Companies no longer want to be seen as bland and apolitical, but edgy and socially conscious. Monroe fits that spec. Which is perhaps why she has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the past few years. Still, an influencer has to watch what they say. They can’t criticise the brands they represent or say anything too controversial. In contrast, an activist can say what they please.

Nowadays, entangling activism and marketing works well for many brands. And Monroe’s comments have been great for ASDA. Instead of criticising supermarkets for selling their products for high prices and making enormous profits, people praise them for selling some cheap, low-quality food. Monroe has helped make supermarkets into the heroes of the cost-of-living crisis, when they should be the villains.

“Jack Monroe is suing an MP for libel”

Monroe got into a dispute with Conservative MP (and now deputy party chairman) Lee Anderson after he praised a foodbank in his constituency where cooking lessons were a condition of receiving food. He also claimed that it was possible to cook healthy meals for 30p each. Monroe then said that many people do not have 30p a day for food (31). When speaking about Monroe in an interview with Martin Daubney, the leader of the Reclaim Party, Anderson said that “…she [Monroe] is taking money off some of the most vulnerable in society and making an absolute fortune on the back of people.” Monroe then threatened to sue Anderson for libel (32). As of February 2023, the case doesn’t appear to have gone ahead.

Monroe sent a tweet inviting people to contribute towards her legal fees via a link to her PayPal (33). At least one person donated to her legal fees (34). She also said her lawyer was pro-bono (working for free) (35). So why did she need donations? Furthermore, most crowdfunding sites allow the money to go directly to where it’s needed. For example, if she’d fundraised via CrowdJustice, the money would go straight to her legal team. Money is automatically refunded if it’s no longer required. Why didn’t she do that?

“But Jack Monroe sued Katie Hopkins” I hear you say. Indeed, she did. Hopkins had said Monroe vandalized the Cenotaph in London. This is factually inaccurate. Monroe never vandalised the memorial (36). Hopkins confused Monroe with another activist, Laurie Penny (37,38). Penny didn’t vandalise the memorial either, but she did tweet in sympathy for the anti-austerity activists who had vandalised it (39). Monroe was awarded £24,000 in compensation and Hopkins was ordered to pay her legal costs (40). As often happens in lawsuits, the real winners were the lawyers. Hopkins had to pay over £100,000 to cover Monroe’s legal costs (41). Shortly after the case, Hopkins did an IVA (Individual Voluntary Agreement). In an IVA, an agreement is made between the person in debt and the creditors to pay back some of the debt and write the rest off. Monroe was one of the creditors in the IVA (42), so it’s likely Monroe accepted a lesser amount of money from Hopkins as she couldn’t afford to pay it all.

There are key differences between Lee Anderson’s case and Katie Hopkins. First, the issue of fact or opinion. Unlike the Hopkins case, where she said something blatantly untrue, Anderson’s comments are subjective. Monroe makes a lot of money (around £20,000 per year from Patreon, £10,000 to £15,000 for dinner speeches, plus book royalties and brand partnerships). She could be described as having “made a fortune”. Plus, Monroe’s target market is people in poverty. Monroe has made money from this. So, in that sense, Anderson’s statement could be regarded as correct. It’s an opinion, rather than a fact. At what point can a person be said to have “made a fortune"? or to be “poor"? There is some ambiguity. Which is probably why Monroe can’t take this case further.

“Jack Monroe’s books and social media posts help those in poverty”

I’ve seen so many people say, “I don’t care about Monroe’s backstory or if she’s telling the truth. All that matters is she helps people”. But does she help people?

First, let’s look at Monroe’s most famous claim: that she spends £20 a week on food for her and her pre-teen son. Can it be done? In an article in the Manchester Evening News, she explains how she manages this feat (43). The article shows an image of what she purchased. The photograph shows many fruits and vegetables, as well as some meat. But there are very few carbohydrate-based foods. A loaf of bread, a packet of dried spaghetti and a tin of spaghetti hoops are the only high-carbohydrate foods pictured. There are no potatoes or potato-based products, although the article says she bought potatoes. There isn’t any rice either. Other common household goods absent include milk, tea or coffee and butter or margarine (again, the article says she purchased milk). I’m no nutritionist, but I can’t see how two people can live on such little food. She also advises checking what you’ve got in before shopping. Those items still have to be purchased and they still have a cost. I suspect Monroe does like many people do: have a big buying-in and then does smaller shops for fresh ingredients more frequently, where she spends £20. If that’s the case, it’s misleading to claim she only spends £20 a week on food.

Furthermore, in the Sunday People article from 2012 where Monroe first spoke about her tight budget, Monroe says she regularly skipped meals so her son could eat (11b). The article also featured a comment from a nutritionist. The nutritionist said Monroe’s son wasn’t getting enough milk for a child of his age (her son was a toddler at the time). In other words, £10 a week (the amount she was spending at the time) wasn’t enough to provide a suitable diet for an adult and a toddler, even when great care was taken to choose low-cost, highly nutritious foods. Doesn’t Monroe continuing to spend so little undermine that point?

What about Monroe’s books? I admit I haven’t read her books. Nor am I a food expert. But the recipes I’ve seen don’t look appetising. Like the infamous rinsed spaghetti recipe. Others seem pointless, like the tomato soup, the main ingredient of which was… tinned tomato soup. Her latest book, Thrifty Kitchen, sounds no better. This book features a mixture of recipes and housekeeping tips. These tips range from bizarre to downright dangerous. This includes the infamous suggestion of using a knife and mallet to open tins (44). Given Monroe still has all of her fingers, I doubt she’s done this more than a couple of times. More to the point, who is this tip actually for? There are circumstances where someone might find themselves without a tin opener. For instance, a person fleeing domestic violence, a refugee who has just arrived in the country or a family whose home has been destroyed by a fire. But it’s unlikely that someone in those circumstances would have access to a knife and a mallet.

The strangest tip is using sanded-down tuna cans for egg rings. Egg rings are for making circular fried eggs. They’re not exactly a kitchen essential. Plus, a pack of sandpaper costs almost as much as egg rings. So, this tip doesn’t save any money unless someone regularly uses sandpaper for other purposes. As well, most sandpapers are designed for use with wood, rather than metal, so using them will result in a rough finish. This will leave sharp edges, which can cut skin and damage cookware.

The tips in this book were so dangerous that the publisher, Pan Macmillan issued a message to say that the dangerous tips would be removed from future editions. They also said future editions would carry an addendum (45). Furthermore, The Trussell Trust said they would not distribute donated copies of the book in their food banks in its current form (46).

This links back to the broader point about Monroe’s past. Monroe’s circumstances matter because these tips are being presented as coming from her experience of poverty. Monroe would know if these tips were of use if she’d relied on them. I suspect she’s tried the tips once or twice, but that she never used them routinely.

A further issue is that Monroe spent 18 months on benefits. Whereas many people have lived in poverty for multiple generations. Is it not patronising to have someone who experienced hardship for a short time to “educate” others who have lived in poverty for many years? The underlying assumption is that people on low incomes need someone to come and teach them how to manage. It relates to another issue: the notion that poverty is a personal failing.

The Conservatives have long believed that poverty is caused by poor budgeting skills. In 1978, Margaret Thatcher said:

“Nowadays there really is no primary poverty left in this country. In Western countries we are left with the problems which aren’t poverty. All right, there may be poverty because people don’t know how to budget, don’t know how to spend their earnings, but now you are left with the really hard fundamental character—personality defect (47).”

Doesn’t Monroe imply this by saying someone only needs to spend £20 a week on food? It might not be the message she intended, but like it or not, Monroe has justified the notion that people only require a tiny amount of money to live. Tory thinking is that if people were more careful, people could live off this paltry amount. This rhetoric is used to justify benefit cuts. Monroe says she’s not like Lee Anderson (48). But they’re more similar than she realises.

Monroe’s advice, recipes and tips aren’t really for people in poverty. They’re for making a person feel as if they’re living frugally when that’s not necessarily the case. The assumption being that if something is uncomfortable or time-consuming, it must be saving money. This failing isn’t exclusive to Monroe’s tips. Indeed, many “hacks” suffer this problem, in that they are inconvenient but don’t have a proven benefit. It’s very rare to see someone say: “I’m in poverty and I found Jack Monroe’s books and recipes helpful.” (I’m not saying nobody ever does). It’s far more common to see middle-class leftists speak of how wonderful Monroe is for teaching cooking and budgeting skills.

“The police monitor Jack Monroe’s social media feeds for threats”

Monroe has said on multiple occasions that the police were monitoring her social media feed for threats. According to Monroe, the police have a special unit devoted to protecting people in public life (49). She claims officers from that unit had been to her home to talk about her personal security. At one point, she said the police were investigating AwfullyMolly (50). Someone did an FOI request to Essex Police about this unit. Essex Police say it does not exist. They also deny routinely monitoring anyone’s social media feeds (51). However, this doesn’t mean the police didn’t visit to look at her social media or discuss personal security.

Other Misconceptions

“Jack Monroe has committed tax avoidance or evasion”

Monroe set up a limited company in 2018, named On a Bootstrap Ltd. In 2022, On a Bootstrap Ltd was subject to a compulsory strike-off for not filing tax returns (52). In the four years that On a Bootstrap Ltd was operating, Monroe completed one tax return (53). Many have said this is tax evasion. It isn’t. Monroe can pay tax as either a sole trader or a business. Assuming Monroe is registered as a sole trader, she will still pay tax. There is no reason to believe that Monroe has failed to declare her income to HMRC. So, what’s gone on here?

If a self-employed person is earning a lot of money, they can reduce their tax liability by setting up a limited company where they are the sole shareholder. They can pay themselves a low salary so they pay little income tax, then pay the bulk of their earnings as dividends (54). The advantage is that dividends attract much lower tax than wages. But the downside is there are additional costs and administration associated with running a limited company compared to being a sole trader.

Tax evasion means structuring finances so there’s less tax to pay. For example, using shell companies based in tax havens. While setting up On a Bootstrap Ltd could be viewed as tax evasion, not sending in accounts isn’t. Monroe will still owe tax on any profits her company made. She will owe fines too. Therefore, Monroe’s failure to complete the tax returns appears to be carelessness rather than nefariousness.

However, there is another aspect to this. Monroe is frequently posited as a financial expert. Her tips have appeared in newspapers. For instance, she has recommended that people cancel their direct debits to energy companies (55). In another article, she gave energy saving tips (56). Yet, the repeated failure to submit her tax returns on time suggests she doesn’t manage her own finances very well. Does this not undermine her credentials as a financial expert? When it comes to managing money, we all know what we should be doing: set a budget, buy the best-value items, compare prices, avoid impulse purchases, check our bank balance regularly and avoid debt. But all those things are easier said than done. The idea of money-saving tips is to help save money and avoid costly mistakes. If Monroe’s tips were effective, wouldn’t she be managing her affairs better?

“Jack Monroe has breeched charity fundraising regulations”

While researching this piece, I came across multiple people suggesting that the Charity Commission investigate Monroe. However, charity fundraising regulations do not apply when Monroe has been raising money for herself. Monroe is not a charity. Nor is she employed by any charity. A person or organisation can collect donations without being a registered charity. Indeed, lots of organisations that accept donations can’t register as charities. For instance, political parties or pressure groups. According to the regulations, charities must be politically independent. They cannot support a party or candidate (57). They can’t be set up for the benefit of a single individual either (58). So, Monroe couldn’t set herself up as a charity if she wanted to.

Questions and Answers

I’ve seen some comments and questions about this whole situation and about me. I thought I’d respond to some of those points.

“She’s suicidal. You need to stop!”

I don’t wish any ill on Jack Monroe. I certainly don’t want her to harm herself or for anyone else to harm her. But she still has questions to answer. Having mental illnesses does not give someone a free pass to behave unethically. I don’t know what’s going on inside Monroe’s head. But she has a pattern of being called out, then claiming she has suffered a decline in her physical and mental health. She then accuses those calling her out of causing her poor health. I don’t condone trolling. But there’s a difference between legitimate criticism and trolling. Also, what about the people she’s taken money off who thought she was in great hardship? Or those who never got the items they subscribed for? “Be kind” seems to only go in one direction.

A final point: remember that if a person is threatening suicide or self-harm on social media, you can report it to the site. The moderation team may be able to get medical help to them. You can also call the police or an ambulance if you know the person’s address.

“You hate Jack Monroe because she’s nonbinary”

I’ve written about nonbinary identities before. I’m not going to go into too much detail here because this post is about Jack Monroe, not gender identity. But I don’t hate anyone for identifying as trans or nonbinary. My concern is that Monroe is using her nonbinary identity to evade criticism. Her response to any allegations is that she is being targeted for her identity. This garners sympathy from supporters and stops people questioning her.

“Instead of going after Jack Monroe, you should go after the government”

There are several flaws in this argument. First, two wrongs don’t make a right. If Monroe is taking money under false pretences, that’s wrong. The government’s actions don’t absolve Monroe of responsibility for her conduct. You can disagree with Monroe’s behaviour and also with the government’s handling of the cost-of-living crisis. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Plus, the current government are shameless. People have gone after the Tories with far more zeal than me or anyone else has gone after Jack Monroe. Yet nothing has changed. Unless there is a vote of no confidence in the government (which right now, seems very unlikely), they’ll be in power until 2024. Tweeting “Conservatives are bad” over and over will not change that. On the other hand, Monroe’s conduct is something ordinary social media users can do something about.

Also, many people don’t care about poverty. Especially if it doesn’t affect them personally. Monroe supporters seem to think that her story is so shocking that anyone who heard it couldn’t possibly support such an unethical government. So, the government must be suppressing her story and sending people to discredit her. If that were the case, why wasn’t this purported smear campaign started sooner? Monroe first came to prominence in the 2010s. The Conservatives have won three further elections since then.

“You have a PayPal donate button on your website too. Isn’t this hypocrisy?”

I have no objection to bloggers and others who make creative works asking for money. Lots of bloggers ask for donations. Most aren’t claiming to be in dire financial difficulties. They are simply offering a way for visitors to help contribute to the site. That’s what sets Monroe apart from other bloggers. It’s comparable to a beggar and a street performer. Both ask for money, but for different reasons. A person gives to a beggar because they need money. If it turned out the beggar didn’t need money, you’d feel duped. On the other hand, a person gives to a street performer because they enjoy their work and want to support them. When giving to a street performer, you don’t know how much they receive in a day. They don’t claim to be in hardship. Any money given is a token of the giver’s appreciation.

In my case, I have received one donation so far. I used it to pay for the Domain Name Service renewal. Most blogs are hosted on free platforms. But this isn’t an option for me. I’ve been banned from Medium. WordPress has also banned gender-critical feminists. I found a hosting company who didn’t ban controversial content. I use the money from my book sales to pay the hosting fees. Running a website isn’t free. For me, the main costs are domain name service registration (which is paid annually) and hosting fees. I don’t run advertising or sponsored content as it may compromise what I can write. Often, advertisers pull advertising if a website runs controversial content. I don’t want to be influenced by advertisers.

“Not everyone with Autism or ADHD is the same as you”

In my original post, I brought up the issue of Monroe’s disabilities for two reasons. First, a lot of people were saying she didn’t understand her behaviour was wrong. Monroe might not have realised at first that she was doing something wrong, but many people have told her and her reaction has been to call those people bullies. Even when those people have valid complaints. For example, when she posted that she was in financial hardship in 2022, it’s possible she might not have understood that this could prompt people to donate. The trouble is, afterwards, she tweeted:

“Overwhelmed by the support and love you’ve sent since I wrote that piece last night. I wasn’t asking for help, that’s beyond my emotional incompetence(!) If you want to do something please donate to the Trussell Trust - we have to stop this cycle of misery happening to others (59)”.

She knew at this point that the donations were in relation to the blog post. She could have offered to refund the donations, or to donate them to the Trussell Trust. She did neither of those things. She didn’t apologise for the misunderstanding either. Also, notice that she didn’t say “I don’t need extra money”. By saying asking for money was “beyond my emotional incompetence”, she implied that she needed the donations but she didn’t feel confident enough to ask for them.

The other argument I’ve seen is that the inconsistencies in her story might stem from her disabilities. This made me think of the famous Mark Twain quote: “tell the truth, and there’s nothing to remember”. If Monroe is telling the truth, why would it matter what she said and where? She would recall telling everyone the same story: the true story of her life. There are times we get mixed up over when something happened, or forget how long ago something was. But in Monroe’s case, there are many things she said that don’t match up with what she said at the time. For example, in my previous post, I wrote about how Monroe said she was nearly evicted after her housing benefit stopped. But a few years later, she claimed she had been evicted (60). Is this a mistake? Or, has she embellished the original story to make it more exciting? Many of Monroe’s stories have gotten more elaborate over time.

The other point is, Monroe is “daft on the right side”. Apart from her tax returns, her mistakes with money have worked to her advantage before they were discovered. If Monroe had made a few small mistakes and put them right quickly, it would be easier to forgive her. But she makes repeated mistakes and only attempts to make amends when her reputation is suffering.

Even if Monroe’s mistakes do arise from her disabilities, she probably isn’t the best person to handle fundraising. Is it really a good idea to send money to someone who freely admits to spending most of their income on alcohol and drugs? Or to someone who forgets to send money to its rightful destination? Especially when sites such as Teemill allow users to send money directly to charity.

Conclusion

This piece has provided more examples of how Jack Monroe isn’t quite all she seems. The situation has been crudely summed up as “everyone who’s doubting her has been in poverty. Everyone who supports her hasn’t”. While there are some exceptions, her biggest cheerleaders- both online and offline- are those who have been wealthy their entire lives. Moreover, Jack Monroe isn’t really for people in poverty. She’s for well-to-do left-wingers who don’t know much about the benefit system or being on a low income. She plays on liberal guilt. Her stories and advice read as a caricature of people in poverty. Furthermore, Monroe only does the right thing when she is pressured into doing so. She rarely shows any remorse for her actions.

I also wonder if Monroe believes she is in hardship, when that’s not necessarily the case. Remember how Boris Johnson described the £250,000 salary for his second job writing a column in the Telegraph as “chicken feed” while he was mayor of London(61)? Perhaps something similar has happened with Monroe. Some people’s idea of “poor” is actually quite well-off.

There’s more to the story than one person. It is the creation of many people. Especially the slack press who haven’t bothered to fact-check before publishing their stories. But ultimately, the Monroe affair is symptomatic of the divided society we live in, where so many people know so little about the lives of the working classes. Monroe might as well be writing about life on another planet. Jack Monroe isn’t the typical private-school, Oxbridge type who normally writes for The Guardian or New Statesman. Which is probably how she has got away with so much.

Kathleen Stock’s (62) article on Monroe as the acceptable face of poverty makes this point perfectly . Monroe is a talented writer, who attended grammar school. She ticks all the “disprivileged” boxes. She’s not the middle-aged balding “gammon” who blames immigration for his long-term unemployment, for instance. Nor is she the single mum who heats up potato smileys and turkey dinosaurs for her children every night. Monroe and her story embody the left of today. Obsessed with identity labels over class. Pro-business. And who put accuracy above activism and feelings over facts.

I don’t consider this matter to be resolved until Monroe’s story is exposed widely in the mainstream media. Outside of social media, she remains a trusted figure. She doesn’t deserve that position when people in poverty are being harmed by her rhetoric and actions.

References

1. Harry Holmes, ‘Why Jack Monroe Is The Grocer’s Hero of the Year’, The Grocer, 21 December 2022, https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/the-grocer-blog-daily-bread/why-jack-monroe-is-the-grocers-hero-of-the-year/674775.article. Archived at https://archive.vn/iHl1C

2. Thrifty Kitchen: Over 120 Delicious, Money-Saving Recipes and Home Hacks. Main Market edition. Bluebird, 2023. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrifty-Kitchen-Delicious-Money-saving-Recipes/dp/1035008513?asin=1035008513&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1. Archived at https://archive.ph/ghGUE

3. Awfully Molly [@AwfullyMolly], ‘“Please Support My Patreon Because I Do Most of My Work for Free” Https://T.Co/N8KsxmeXAR, Tweet, Twitter, 6 January 2023, https://twitter.com/AwfullyMolly/status/1611369167156047873. Archived at https://archive.is/LEBaR

4.Jo Tweedy, ‘Row between Campaigner Jack Monroe and Detractors Flares Up’, Mail Online, 17 November 2022, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11403551/Row-anti-poverty-campaigner-Jack-Monroe-detractors-flares-up.html. Archived at https://archive.ph/m6B45

5. Katie Herzog and Jesse Singal, ‘‎Blocked and Reported: Premium: The Literally Unbelievable Tale Of Jack Monroe, The U.K.’s Richest And Most Frequently Endorsed Poor Person on Apple Podcasts’, Blocked and Reported, accessed 17 January 2023, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/premium-the-literally-unbelievable-tale-of-jack-monroe/id1504298199?i=1000580971235. Archived at https://archive.ph/SSXTJ

6. Undercover Ranter, ‘Is Jack Monroe a Liar? Bootstrap Cook Faces Scrutiny’, Sunday Woman (blog), 29 September 2022, https://www.sundaywoman.com/is-jack-monroe-a-liar-bootstrap-cook-faces-scrutiny/. Archived at https://archive.ph/usgkH

7. Josephine Bartosch, ‘The Panhandlerati’, The Critic Magazine, 10 November 2022, https://thecritic.co.uk/the-panhandlerati/. Archived at https://archive.ph/kih5L

8. Nikki Pilkington 🤓✍ [@NikkiPilkington], ‘Well, Can I Say “Fuck Me, I Didn’t Expect THAT to Happen Today?” I’ve Donated the Refund to Https://Justgiving.Com/Encompasscharity, so I Guess Jack Can Claim She Helped a Foodbank Today. #JackMonroe #Refund @BootstrapCook Https://T.Co/A2Iph0FVYC’, Tweet, Twitter, 18 January 2023, https://twitter.com/NikkiPilkington/status/1615673654154792961. Archived at https://archive.ph/5b1bk

9. Simon Hattenstone, ‘“I’ve Heard It All: She’s a Fraud, a Liar, a Thief”: Jack Monroe on Alcohol, Addiction and Answering Her Critics’, The Guardian, 7 January 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/07/jack-monroe-interview. Archived at https://archive.ph/OUEY4

10. Jack Monroe, ‘‘Unemployed Mum Sells Off Belongings’, Essex Enquirer, 2 February 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20130202000141/http:/agirlcalledjack.com/2012/08/23/unemployed-mum-sells-off-belongings-essex-enquirer/

11. ^a,b Josh Layton, ‘Living in Poverty: Young Mum Has Just £10 a Week for Food’, The Mirror, 23 December 2012, http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/young-mum-turns-off-heating-so-she-can-1502710. Archived at https://archive.ph/F9SRs

12. ‘Search All of the Online Articles from The Echo’, accessed 12 January 2023, https://www.echo-news.co.uk/search/. Archived at https://archive.ph/VMPta

13. Jack Monroe, ‘Jack Monroe’s “Dead People Can’t Riot” & “This Is An Eton Mess” Merchandise Raises £11,369 For UK Food Banks’, COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP, 31 October 2022, https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2022/10/31/jack-monroes-dead-people-cant-riot-this-is-an-eton-mess-merchandise-raises-11369-for-uk-food-banks/. Archived at https://archive.ph/zcKpe

14. Jack Monroe 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 [@BootstrapCook], ‘Delighted to Finally Tell You That the Charity T-Shirts from Last Month Raised £11,082.39 for the @TrussellTrust - Which Teemill Have Paid and the TT Received This Afternoon. Thankyou Everyone Who Supported This Madcap off-the-Cuff Idea, Delighted to Have Been Able to Do This. 💚 Https://T.Co/05zrdJ0z3J, Tweet, Twitter, 23 March 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1506650252056707081. Archived at https://archive.ph/XUKeY

15. Jack Monroe 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 [@BootstrapCook], ‘In Case You Missed It Yesterday, I’ve Accidentally Launched a Clothing Range. 100% of the Profits to the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network - and over £5k Raised Already! Organic Cotton, Some of It Recycled, Ethically Made in the UK. Head to Http://Jackmonroe.Teemill.Com to Take a Peek. Https://T.Co/EidBuvf7Z3, Tweet, Twitter, 2 February 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1488799670281420804. Archived at https://archive.ph/t51Bl

16. Larry Elliott, ‘Cost-of-Living Crisis: Jack Monroe Hails ONS Update of Inflation Calculations’, The Guardian, 26 January 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jan/26/cost-of-living-crisis-ons-inflation-jack-monroe. Archived at https://archive.ph/frntI

17. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘Delighted to Be Able to Tell You That the @ONS Have Just Announced That They Are Going to Be Changing the Way They Collect and Report on the Cost of Food Prices and Inflation to Take into Consideration a Wider Range of Income Levels and Household Circumstances 👊 #VimesBootsIndex’, Tweet, Twitter, 26 January 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1486308687551553538. Archived at https://archive.ph/wLpHF

18. Mike Hardie, ‘Measuring the Changing Prices and Costs Faced by Households’, Office for National Statistics, 26 January 2022, https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2022/01/26/measuring-the-changing-prices-and-costs-faced-by-households/. Archived at https://archive.vn/wvFkq

19. Office for National Statistics, ‘[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Variation in the Inflation Experience of UK Households: 2003-2014’, National Archives, 5 January 2016, https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160105213941/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/elmr/variation-in-the-inflation-experience-of-uk-households/2003-2014/sty-variation-in-the-inflation-experience-of-uk-households.html

20. Andrea Lacey, ‘Investigating the Impact of Different Weighting Methods on CPIH, Office for National Statistics, 8 November 2017, https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/methodologies/investigatingtheimpactofdifferentweightingmethodsoncpih. Archived at https://archive.is/ExSsN

21. Helen Sands, ‘Consumer Prices Indices Technical Manual, 2019’, Office for National Statistics, 18 September 2019, https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/methodologies/consumerpricesindicestechnicalmanual2019. Archived at https://archive.ph/YTqvh

22. WhatDoTheyKnow, ‘Details of Meetings with Jack Monroe (Aka @BootstrapCook) - a Freedom of Information Request to Office for National Statistics’, WhatDoTheyKnow, 16 September 2022,https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/details_of_meetings_with_jack_mo. Archived at https://archive.ph/RaO6x

23. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘Evidence for the Deletion of Products from the Asda Smartprice Range, Which Is Being Disputed by People Who Have Never Had to Shop from It’:, Tweet, Twitter, 28 January 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1487033090040115210. Archived at https://archive.ph/rQKqj

24. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘Hello @AsdaServiceTeam I’d like to Lodge a Complaint. For the Last Few Years I’ve Faithfully Taken My £20 Budget to My Local Store and Almost-Filled One of Your Little Green Baskets with Groceries on It. That Basket Has the Same Capacity as My Biggest Best Rucksack: Super Handy!’, Tweet, Twitter, 27 August 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1563527122752532481. Archived at https://archive.is/r5lo4

25. Jack Monroe 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 [@BootstrapCook], ‘@AsdaServiceTeam Entirely Mutual Anjan, so Much Love for Your Whole Team, You’re out Here Literally Quietly Saving Lives in This Crisis. Have a Lovely Evening 💚’, Tweet, Twitter, 27 August 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1563607880271425536. Archived at https://archive.ph/fSayv

26. Julian Amani, ‘Branded FMCG Product Sales Plummet 5.1% as Shoppers Turn towards Own-Label’, Grocery Gazette, 6 April 2022, https://www.grocerygazette.co.uk/2022/04/06/branded-product-fmcg-sales/. Archived at https://archive.is/3aXM6

27. Kristian Bayford, ‘Almost Half of Customers Opt for Own-Brand Items amid Cost of Living Crisis’, Grocery Gazette, 16 August 2022, https://www.grocerygazette.co.uk/2022/08/16/own-brand-supermarket-money/. Archived at https://archive.ph/obp03

28. Zoe Wood, ‘Tesco Rebrands Value Range’, The Guardian, 4 April 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/business/2012/apr/04/tesco-rebrands-value-range. Archived at https://archive.is/q6D6R

29. John Quelch and David Harding, ‘Brands Versus Private Labels: Fighting to Win’, Harvard Business Review, 1 January 1996, https://hbr.org/1996/01/brands-versus-private-labels-fighting-to-win. Archived at https://archive.is/XlpzM

30. Steerpike, ‘Sainsbury’s Refuse to Side with Jack Monroe after She Tweets about PM’s Late Son’, The Spectator, 24 November 2014, https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sainsbury-s-refuse-to-side-with-jack-monroe-after-she-tweets-about-pm-s-late-son/. Archived at https://archive.ph/Tph9O

31. Liam O’Dell, ‘“Bootstrap Cook” Jack Monroe Just Shut down a Tory MP on Food Banks with a Single Blog Post’, indy100, 14 May 2022, https://www.indy100.com/politics/jack-monroe-lee-anderson-food-banks. Archived at https://archive.ph/Zgyqk

32. Mark Townsend, ‘Jack Monroe to Sue MP after He Says “She Makes Fortune from the Poor”’, The Observer, 15 May 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/may/15/food-writer-jack-monroe-sues-tory-mp-claims-she-makes-fortune-poor-lee-anderson. Archived at https://archive.ph/3VcBf

33. @bootstrapcook, ‘“jack Monroe” Legal - Twitter Search / Twitter’, Twitter, 13 May 2022, https://twitter.com/belfaststeve/status/1605917987050901504/photo/4. Archived at https://archive.is/hWHJk

34. Alison Denham [@paddymaid], ‘@BootstrapCook @NDS691 Donation Made. ❤️’, Tweet, Twitter, 14 May 2022, https://twitter.com/paddymaid/status/1525490653773406210. Archived at https://archive.is/LkEIV

35. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘I’m Lucky to Have a 12 Step Program, Multiple Fellowships, Excellent Sponsor, Supportive Employers and Agent, Good IRL Friends + Online Ones, a Loving Family, Proactive Police Force, pro Bono Lawyer, a Strong Core Belief in My Moral Code and Values, but Fuuuucking Hell Just Stop’, Tweet, Twitter, 2 September 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1565763357789020161. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20220902180815/https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1565763357789020161

36. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘@_DirtieBertie @Warren_Whitmore @OUScotland @edbookfest @KitdeWaal No, He Acts on a No Win No Fee/pro Bono Basis for Me. Which Is a Matter of Public Record. I May Be so Bold as to Perhaps Suggest That You Familiarise Yourself with the Landmark Case That Literally Set the Case Law Precedent for “Libel Published on Twitter”. Night!’, Tweet, Twitter, 25 August 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1562940539926106114. Archived at https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1562940539926106114

37. BBC News, ‘Jack Monroe Wins Katie Hopkins Libel Tweet Case’, BBC News, 10 March 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-39234079. Archived at https://archive.ph/1GjIO

38. Monroe V Hopkins EWHC 433 (QB), No. HQ15D05286 (High Court, Queen’s Bench Division 10 March 2017), https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiS_c2SsOL5AhXTRUEAHSNfD6gQFnoECAUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.judiciary.uk%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F03%2Fmonroe-v-hopkins-2017-ewhc-433-qb-20170329-rev-1.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0FDcNEhwEgo0x4smoXvTGR. Archived at https://archive.ph/CiFiN

39. Laurie Penny [@PennyRed], ‘I Don’t Have a Problem with This. The Bravery of Past Generations Does Not Oblige Us to Be Cowed Today. Https://T.Co/QS6Oq55n5q, Tweet, Twitter, 9 May 2015, https://twitter.com/PennyRed/status/597115014059810817. Archived at https://archive.ph/6qP1L

40. Steerpike, ‘Laurie Penny Defends War Memorial Vandalism at Anti-Tory March’, The Spectator, 9 May 2015, https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/laurie-penny-defends-war-memorial-vandalism-at-anti-tory-march. Archived at https://archive.ph/JoKE0

41. Mark Hodge and Alex Matthews, ‘Who Is Katie Hopkins? What Was Her Libel Case about and Is She Insolvent?’, The Sun, 17 September 2018, https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/7279232/who-is-katie-hopkins-libel-case-insolvent/. Archived at https://archive.ph/xQrbj

42. Emmeline Saunders, ‘Why Katie Hopkins’ Old Post about Debt Has Come Back to Haunt Her’, The Mirror, 17 November 2019, https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/katie-hopkins-house-debt-tweet-13254846. Archived at https://archive.ph/Eo8jP

43. Bethan Shufflebotham, ‘Former Foodbank User Shares Useful Way to Keep Weekly ASDA Shop under £20’, Manchester Evening News, 19 April 2022, https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/former-foodbank-user-jack-monroe-23726284. Archived at https://archive.ph/xgECf

44. Ben Obese-Jecty [@BenObeseJecty], ‘Strong #VizTopTips Energy from Jack Monroe’s Thrifty Kitchen. The Ludicrous Advice Reads like It Was Written so Middle-Class Socialists Could Have a Voyeuristic Glimpse of What They Imagine Poverty to Be like, without Needing to Get Too Close. Https://T.Co/0oWYrMH6ok’, Tweet, Twitter, 5 January 2023, https://twitter.com/BenObeseJecty/status/1610914890096562176. Archived at https://archive.ph/kqcZj

45. Lauren Brown, ‘Pan Mac Issues Safety Statement on Monroe’s Thrifty Kitchen as Changes Made Post-Publication’, The Bookseller, 6 January 2023, https://www.thebookseller.com/news/pan-mac-issues-safety-statement-on-monroes-thrifty-kitchen-as-changes-made-post-publication. Archived at https://archive.ph/1hBkY

46. The Trussell Trust [@TrussellTrust], ‘@frugally_minded @BootstrapCook The Publishers Have Assured Us That They’re Taking Action. The Books That Will Be Donated to Our Food Banks Will Contain an Addendum That Addresses Any Health and Safety Concerns and We Will Not Be Distributing Any Books via Our Food Banks in the Current Form. (2/2)’, Tweet, Twitter, 5 January 2023, https://twitter.com/TrussellTrust/status/1611048592654929945. Archived at https://archive.ph/IRNhp

47. Richard Dowden, ‘The Thatcher Philosophy- Interview for Catholic Herald’, Margaret Thatcher Foundation, 29 December 1978, https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/103793. Archived at https://archive.ph/5fYcR

48. ^a,b Jack Monroe, ‘What’s The Difference Between Jack Monroe Suggesting Budget Recipes, And A Tory MP?’, COOKING ON A BOOTSTRAP, 12 May 2022, https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2022/05/12/whats-the-difference-between-jack-monroe-suggesting-budget-recipes-and-a-tory-mp/. Archived at https://archive.vn/WsRYh

49. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘@PaulMaddison121 Unfortunately Paul, I’ve Been Doing This for a Decade Now and There’s a Subtle Demarcation Point between Basement Spittleflecked Monitors and Credible Threats of Harm. At the Point the Police Turn up at Your House Unsolicited to Review Your Home Security, You’re Well in Column B.’, Tweet, Twitter, 2 September 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1565765429758410753. Archived at https://archive.ph/FkXmI

50. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘@JewishCatMother Mark and the Police Are Well on It.’, Tweet, Twitter, 17 September 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1571188472060301313. Archived at https://archive.is/1gB4n

51. WhatDoTheyKnow, ‘Cost to Taxpayer of New Essex Police Celebrity Social Media Department - a Freedom of Information Request to Essex Police’, WhatDoTheyKnow, 23 September 2022, https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cost_to_taxpayer_of_new_essex_po?unfold=1. Archived at https://archive.is/6AQi7

52. Companies House, ‘ON A BOOTSTRAP LIMITED Overview’, GOV.UK, 2023, https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11259997. Archived at https://archive.ph/wEpjS

53. Jack Monroe, ‘On a Bootstrap Limited: Micro-Entity Accounts’ (GOV.UK, 31 March 2019), https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11259997/filing-history/MzI2NzQ3MzQ5NmFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0; Companies House, ‘ON A BOOTSTRAP LIMITED Filing History’, GOV.UK, 2023, https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/11259997/filing-history. Archived at https://archive.ph/mHbp0

54. Bytestart, ‘Tax-Efficient Ways to Pay Yourself through a Limited Company’, Bytestart, 1 January 2022, https://www.bytestart.co.uk/tax-efficient-ways-to-pay-yourself-through-a-limited-company. Archived at https://archive.is/wWvqf

55. Jaymelouise Hudspith, ‘Jack Monroe in “cancel Direct Debits” Call over Huge Energy Bill Hike’, North Wales Live, 15 August 2022, https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/cost-of-living/jack-monroe-cancel-direct-debits-24725411. Archived at https://archive.ph/KG9xr

56. Benjamin Lynch, ‘Jack Monroe’s Missing Lightbulb Trick Helps Cut Money on Your Energy Bills’, mirror, 11 March 2022, https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/jack-monroe-shares-energy-saving-26443449. Archived at https://archive.vn/Wwrki

57. GOV.UK, ‘Political Activity and Campaigning by Charities’, GOV.UK, 25 January 2023, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/political-activity-and-campaigning-by-charities. Archived at https://archive.ph/87q9I

58. GOV.UK, ‘Set up a Charity’, GOV.UK, 19 January 2023, https://www.gov.uk/setting-up-charity/charitable-purposes. Archived at https://archive.is/ffgX6

59. Jack Monroe [@BootstrapCook], ‘Overwhelmed by the Support and Love You’ve Sent since I Wrote That Piece Last Night. I Wasn’t Asking for Help, That’s beyond My Emotional Incompetence(!) If You Want to Do Something Please Donate to the Trussell Trust - We Have to Stop This Cycle of Misery Happening to Others. 💚’, Tweet, Twitter, 1 August 2022, https://twitter.com/BootstrapCook/status/1554098528204607489. Archived at https://archive.is/NXEXr

60. Katie Roche, ‘Jack Monroe Investigation’, KatieRoche.Net, 3 August 2022, https://katieroche.net/jack_monroe_investigation_main.html. Archived at https://archive.ph/Ssg2r

61. Hélène Mulholland, ‘Johnson Condemned for Describing £250,000 Deal as “Chicken Feed”’, The Guardian, 14 July 2009, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/14/boris-johnson-telegraph-chicken-feed. Archived at https://archive.ph/0pIO5

62. Kathleen Stock, ‘Jack Monroe: The Acceptable Face of Poverty’, UnHerd, 6 January 2023, https://unherd.com/2023/01/jack-monroe-the-acceptable-face-of-poverty/. Archived at https://archive.is/FUj8z

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