As Boris Johnson showcases his lack of understanding about the problems vulnerable people are facing as energy and food costs soar, Lib Dem Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper has highlighted that 2 million pensioners will not qualify for the Government’s Council Tax rebate.
The Prime Minister’s interview on Good Morning Britain was a further embarrassment for the Government. Susanna Reid told him about Elsie, a 77 year old pensioner, who gets just the basic State Pension and whose energy bills have gone up from £17 per month to £85 per month. She doesn’t qualify for the Council Tax rebate. She is eating just one meal a day and is spending her days travelling on buses to keep warm. Johnson’s first reaction was to congratulate himself for introducing the bus pass that Elsie was using and he had nothing else to offer her to make life easier for her.
.@susannareid100 tells the PM about 77-year-old Elsie who eats one meal a day and stays on the bus all day to avoid using energy at home.
She questions the PM about the comments he made about people having to make choices about what they spend their money on. pic.twitter.com/26b7kPuBNh
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) May 3, 2022
Daisy Cooper was quick to highlight that there are over 2 million pensioners who, like Elsie, won’t benefit from the Council Tax Rebate. It is worth reminding ourselves that this is just £150 which barely covers 2 months of Elsie’s fuel increase.
Daisy said:
It is a national scandal that on the same day that BP announces mega profits, millions of pensioners, many living in poverty, are being left without support.
Hearing Elsie’s story on GMB this morning was heartbreaking, and Boris Johnson’s response showed he’s unfit to be Prime Minister during this national crisis.
If he had even a shred of decency he would step in and help pensioners who are making the unbearable decision between heating and eating.
This Thursday is a chance to send a message that the Conservatives must get rid of Boris Johnson and do more to help pensioners who have been left out in the cold.
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3 Comments
Well said Daisy Cooper, Johnson’s reply to Susanna Reids’ question regarding the pensioner who uses her bus pass to travel the buses on a daily basis to save heating bills, is just typical of motor mouths’ irresponsible, thoughtless words and ignorance of the lives of so many people in his own country.
How about the many that rely on medical equipment. I charge my Power Wheelchair for 12 hours every other day.
His sister standing up for him today on LBC , the many court cases and deaths in Care Homes.
I’m sorry to say that the Commons is not Eton or any other playground for spoilt young adults.
We have the son of a KGB officer in the Lords, is this what it’s all about.
Controlling the taxpayer.
As I have said previously, the latest “comments” from those in Government merely prove that this particular “Government” has no idea of the social responsibilities of being in Government or of how to govern!