Tory suggests people buy supermarket value brands in car crash interview about cost of living crisis | indy100

Minister advises struggling families to use ‘value brands’

Indy

A Tory minister put his foot in it when discussing the cost of living crisis today, suggesting people should just buy cheap brands instead.

Asked about what families could do to cut costs if they want to cook a Sunday roast, George Eustice told Sky News: “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.”

It comes as overall grocery price inflation hit 5.9 per cent this month in what is the fastest rise since December 2011, data from market researcher Kantar showed, due in part to the war in Ukraine.

It also comes as the latest Tory gaff on the issue after Johnson appeared to boast about introducing free bus passes in response to hearing about a woman who rides buses all day to stay warm without having to heat her home in an interview with Good Morning Britain. As well as being a bizarre response, it was also pretty misleading...

Commenting on that issue, Eustice added: “What would my advice be to Elsa (sic)? Well, my advice would be that, you know, not to stay on a bus all day to try and stay warm. My advice would be to seek some support from the local authority.”

Reacting to Eustice's comments, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the Tories "haven't got a clue".

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Let them eat value cake? \n\nThe Tories haven\u2019t got a clue.\n\n#CostOfLivingCrisis #Elsie \n#LocalElections2022 https://twitter.com/kevinaschofield/status/1521735098592374789\u00a0\u2026
— Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39 (@Angela Rayner \ud83c\udf39) 1651647225

Green party MP Caroline Lucas said it was a "staggering comment".

Staggering comment by Tory Minister - up there with the time Dominic Raab said people using food banks were just facing \u201ccash flow problems\u201d\n\nPensioners are riding on buses all day just to keep warm - and this is the Govt\u2019s solution. Couldn\u2019t be more out of touch if they triedhttps://twitter.com/kevinaschofield/status/1521735098592374789\u00a0\u2026
— Caroline Lucas (@Caroline Lucas) 1651652605

Here's how other people reacted:

I can\u2019t believe this needs saying, but people are not struggling with their bills because they haven\u2019t thought to buy own brand?!\n\nCould they be more out of touch?\n\nLabour will introduce windfall tax to cut household energy bills by up to \u00a3600. #OnYourSidehttps://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1521735098592374789?s=20&t=-ReC-IkhgWEXT5iYcZNnqA\u00a0\u2026
— Preet Kaur Gill MP (@Preet Kaur Gill MP) 1651649969

Oh God. The kitchen Cabinet guide to budget cooking.https://twitter.com/kevinaschofield/status/1521735098592374789\u00a0\u2026
— Ayesha Hazarika (@Ayesha Hazarika) 1651649872

"'Let them eat own-brand food', says minister" may not be a vote-winner in a local or general electionhttps://twitter.com/KevinASchofield/status/1521735098592374789\u00a0\u2026
— Paul Waugh (@Paul Waugh) 1651649646

The Environment Secretary George Eustice says people struggling to pay for their own food should "contain and manage their budgets" by buying supermarket value brands.\n\nPerhaps he should pass on the advice to the Prime Minister.pic.twitter.com/kg6W37O9gQ
— Adam Bienkov (@Adam Bienkov) 1651646952

Eustice won't live this one down easily...

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