Kit Malthouse struggles by on a salary of £115,824, he claimed yesterday.
The Tory MP earns more than three times the average annual wage of a full-time worker in the UK. But in an
interview yesterday the Minister for Policing claimed the cost of living rise would be “tricky” for his household.
What Malthouse failed to appreciate is how impossible the cost of living crisis is for those who were already struggling.
Energy bills going up by more than 50 per cent is a much bigger problem when you’re not on government minister wages.
The Tories are routinely branded out of touch by their political rivals. But when they come out with such tin-eared comments it’s little wonder why.
Boris Johnson’s Cabinet team is stuffed full of millionaires and former private school pupils.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is believed to be the richest MP in the Commons. He wants to portray himself as a tax-cutter to please Tory backbenchers when in reality he pushes up National Insurance contributions for workers.
The UK Government could have chosen to help households facing
crippling energy bills. They could have imposed a windfall tax on giant energy companies.
They could reduce or remove VAT on household bills. Instead Tory ministers stand back and let the market decide, as usual.
It’s the same old story from a government that just doesn’t care.
Haunted by war
Forty years ago today Argentine forces invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands.
Three days later, on April 5, a UK task force set sail to recapture the Islands.
To this day the conflict is a cause of controversy, with many claiming the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher set the war-drums beating to shore-up her waning popularity at home.
Others say it was vital for Britain to fight to reclaim the islands in the face of a take-over by a dictatorship.
What is not in doubt, however, is the bravery of those who fought to free the Falklands – with 255 British soldiers, sailors and airmen killed.
Many of those who survived were also left with terrible injuries– both physical and mental. In the Daily Record today we tell the stories of some of the Scots who fought to free the Falklands.
Read their stories if you can – and take a moment to reflect on their incredible courage.
As Europe stands on the brink of another war, it is also worth considering the human cost that is often paid to maintain our most valued freedoms.
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