When the lights went out in the 70s under a Tory government, hippy shops selling scented candles found demand went through the roof.
With electricity bills going north of £760 a month, people in 21st century Scotland are again having to resort to wax lights.
Trapped with electric storage heaters and a pay-as-you go meter, people like single mum-of-two Nicola Elson can’t afford to turn their electric lights on.
According to Tory Minister Rachel Maclean, the solution for Nicola, and millions of other struggling families, is to get another job, or get a third job, or get a better paid job.
The week has barely started and Maclean is already the clear winner of the out-of-touch Tory of the Week award.
Last week’s winner was backbencher Lee Anderson, who claimed that people who rely on food banks “cannot budget” and “cannot cook properly”.
Or there was the patronising advice of the Environment Secretary George Eustice, who told people to save money by buying own-brand products.
The comments might even be funny if people were not facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in living memory.
The government are not just out of touch, they are out of rope too with no idea, no clue on how to tackle the everyday problems faced by people.
They can’t be embarrassed by votes in Parliament to impose a windfall tax on energy giants, as Labour plan for Tuesday, because they are arrogant and complacent.
They can’t be trusted with the truth, they can’t be trusted with the rules and they sure can’t be trusted to know what it is like to balance the books.
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