Nine times Tory MPs discussed the cost of living crisis and did an absolutely terrible job

As millions of people around the country are struggling to pay their bills and put food on the table because of the cost of living crisis, the Conservative government has done a pretty good job of showing just how out of touch they are with the people they have been elected to serve.

Here are eight separate times various Tory MPs discussed the cost of living crisis and did an absolutely terrible job at it.

Michael Gove

Today (11 May), the “levelling up” minister appeared in a bizarre interview on BBC Breakfast and used a Liverpudlian accent to tell people to “calm down” over the government’s lack of financial support.

It was among a variety of strange voices the minister put on throughout the interview, including implementing a faux American accent to suggest commentators are trying to turn things into a “capital letters big news story”.

George Eustice

In yet another car crash interview, Tory minister George Eustice suggested the solution for people struggling to pay for food amid the crisis is for them to just buy cheap brands.

When asked how people might cut the cost of a roast dinner, for example, he suggested: “Generally what people find is going for some of the value brands, rather than own-branded products they can actually contain and manage their household budget.”

Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Dominic Raab

During an interview with Sky News, it appeared Tory minister Dominic Raab found the whole cost of living crisis amusing as he couldn’t seem to stop grinning.

The deputy PM and justice secretary was asked by host Niall Paterson what his solutions were for the crisis, and could not stop smiling as he gave his response.

Boris Johnson

The Prime Minister himself has been in hot water recently over his response to a heartbreaking outcome of the cost of living crisis.

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Johnson was told the story of a pensioner who has been riding the bus to stay warm as she doesn’t put her heating on due to rising energy bills.

The Prime Minister’s awful response was to brag that he was the one who introduced that bus pass – which turned out to be a lie.

Katherine Fletcher

In an appearance on BBC Politics North West, Tory MP Katherine Fletcher was called “callous” after suggesting that families who are struggling are “sitting on benefits” and should “get any job”.

When told that there are people in work who are also struggling financially, Fletcher’s response was: “You get any job, you get a better job, you get a career.”

Her comments were criticized by Labour's shadow employment minister, Alison McGovern, who said: “For a Tory MP to suggest people are sitting around on benefits shows we’re being governed by the same old Tories.

“While working families are striving to make ends meet in the face of callous Conservative decisions that are making their lives harder, we have a Tory MP doing nothing more than insult them.”

Rishi Sunak

The chancellor who makes the decisions on what financial help people in need receive was awkwardly confronted by the reality of the situation live on the radio.

While appearing on LBC, Sunak was confronted by a mother who called in to explain that the rising costs in bills meant she was unable to afford to heat her home.

The mother of two explained she was cleaning houses and doing food deliveries on a bike in the evening to make money, despite having another job.

In response, Sunak said it sounded like she was “working her socks off” and went on to mentioned the £350 energy “rebate”, which is in fact a loan people will have to pay back.

The woman responded, saying: “I think the response from Rishi is difficult because the support that is apparently being offered just isn't relative at all to what the rising costs are for us.

“You are going to see more and more people relying on food banks and also not able to afford to work.

“You are going to have people in low-income families or families such as myself who may well get very very ill because they are unable to afford to heat their homes.”

Mark Spence

MP Mark Spence is yet another Tory to show just how out of touch they are with the lived reality of the British people.

Speaking on TalkTV, Spence admitted that he had not been very affected by the cost of living crisis, but claimed to understand what his continents are going through.

He said: “I'm not going to pretend to you I was as affected as many of my constituents are. There are people out there who really need the support.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he claimed he can “feel” how it is impacting people, saying: “Come and stand with me in the villages of Nottinghamshire, on the high streets of some of those towns and you feel it.”

Kit Malthouse

Policing minister Kit Malthouse, who makes an annual salary of more than £115,000, sparked controversy after saying the cost of living crisis would be “tricky” for him.

Speaking to LBC, Malthouse said: “Obviously the day-to-day is quite tricky. As you know, I’ve got children. They need to be fed and that cost is rising.

“My fuel prices are rising quite significantly, and I have to say that in my constituency I’m on oil central heating still, sadly.”

He continued: “So we are feeling it very significantly. I have to confess to you, we did convert last year to electric vehicles, so we are feeling the electric price but not through the petrol. So it is a challenge for everybody.”

The minister made the comments on the same day that he was set to receive a pay rise of £2,212.

Rachel Maclean

Speaking in an interview with Sky News, Safeguarding minister Rachel Maclean suggested that people struggling with the cost of living crisis should simply work for more hours or get better paid jobs.

She said: “Over the long term we need to have a plan to grow the economy and make sure that people are able to protect themselves better.

“Whether that is by taking on more hours or moving to a better paid job and these are long term actions but that's what we're focused on as a government.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.