Will it be "Let Them Eat Cake" or "Make Poverty History" ?

3.18.26pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 19th Jul 2005

Just before the French Revolution Queen Marie Antoinette was told that there was no bread left in the shops, and people were starving to death. She famously answered 'let them eat cake'. Just how out of touch can you be? Now, with one child dying every 3 seconds in Africa, the rich rulers of the G8 countries are getting the same message - people there are starving to death, preventable diseases are spreading because no-one can afford medicine, and endless armed conflict and worsening environmental damage make recovery impossible.

The 'Make Poverty History' campaign has strong roots in Stockport, where it is backed by churches, community groups, and many individuals. You may have noticed the distinctive white tape wrapped round some local church buildings, and you must have seen Live 8, and the marches in Edinburgh, all designed to make sure world leaders realise that the rest of us want them to sort it out. I have had hundreds of concerned residents asking me to make sure our own Government takes a strong lead whilst Tony Blair chairs the G8.

After working on refugee relief projects overseas myself in the past I know what a gap there often is between the things said by those in power and what actually happens out in the field. So I am particularly keen to see smooth government words turned into hard action. It helps when I can tell ministers there are many hundreds of constituents who share my view.

But I do get the odd person who disagrees, and feels the money will all be wasted, and that these people really should get a grip in their countries, work harder, and save up a bit more. Let them eat cake, in other words. Poor Marie Antoinette had her head cut off for taking such an attitude. For the rich countries a prosperous Africa without armed conflict will quickly bring an end to the floods of asylum seekers, and a healthy Africa will stop exporting malaria and TB to Europe. If we insist on them 'eating cake' they may not cut our heads off, but those problems will quickly get worse, threatening not just Africa, but our own health and society too.

No wonder so many Hazel Grove and Bramhall residents want to 'Make Poverty History'.

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