"It's sad all Tories are branded as rich": Poverty discussion gets heated | LBC

Ali Miraj and his Cross Question panel discuss how food poverty has risen so much.
HBIA statistics for 2022/23 show that the number of people in food insecure households jumped from five to seven million in this period.
Tory MP, Shailesh Vara expresses his sadness that 'all Tories are branded as rich' and that there's 'poor people and non-poor people everywhere.' However, Big Brother Watch's Silkie Carlo stresses that Vara is on '£85,000 a year' when some on universal credit are on just '£85 a week'.
The Cross Question panel included:
Shailesh Vara - Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire and former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Siân Berry - Green Party candidate in Brighton Pavilion and former Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales
Silkie Carlo - Director of Big Brother Watch
Charlie Rowley - former Special Advisor to Prime Minister Theresa May
Listen to the full show on Global Player: app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/...
#alimiraj #foodpoverty #LBC #tories #ukpolitics
LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK.
Join in the conversation and listen at www.lbc.co.uk/
Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: l-bc.co/signup

[@gretareinarsson7461]

I’m so sick and tired if this “hard work” b.s. A lot of people work extremely hard and waste no money but are still poor. One reason is simply low wages

[@arp_909]

100%

[@edprince753]

low wages to support billionaire's superyacht bills

[@LiveOrDieTryingLSA]

Beautifully said with that comment.

[@anthonydempsey7693]

Brilliant well said 🎉

[@kas3966]

And extremely high prices!!

[@metalhead2550]

Foodbanks shouldn't exist in the world's 6th largest economy.... This is the impact the Tories have had on society, they still try to scapegoat the pandemic and Ukraine war for 14 years of corruption and incompetence.

[@royboy565]

Well they still blame Labour after 14 years so plenty of mileage left yet in the pandemic and the Ukraine war.

[@petefl1818]

@@royboy565"plenty of mileage left yet in the pandemic" yes, if Labour has the sense to use the Torys absolute betrayal of the British people in their handling of it.

[@hohohohehehe6910]

Before the Tories we were the third richest economy

[@AM.000]

Food banks exist because you live in a Capitalist economy. You could live in the largest economy, and there would be food banks because there are poor people and extremely wealthy people living in that economy. And many would fight against any sort universal basic income or any socialist shifts to eliminate poverty.

[@Craig121000]

We are now 7th. Brexit lowered us one point.

[@George57]

£400 billion bill to pay. The poor have payed enough . Tax the rich and let them pay for it for a change . Every recession or crisis I have lived through is always payed on the backs of the people who can least afford it.

[@grahamdhv3812]

Paid

[@hohohohehehe6910]

They said all of that, and all you could say was that.

[@Craig121000]

Go on, tell us how you're gonna squeeze millions from Elon. 🤣🤣

[@MyDisavow]

​@@Craig121000 Any corporation which receives more in profits in a year than the government does in tax revenue, has to split those profits 50-50 with the government. Impact: either The government gets more money Employees get pay rises Business infrastructure improves Most likely a combination of all 3. That's not a 'tax rate'. That's ensuring that tax keeps up with profits. And if e.g. Amazon or BP wants to keep more of their profits, they will be paying for higher taxes *on everyone* because it increases government revenue. Imagine corporations paying politicians to *increase* taxes instead of to decrease taxes! Just a thought...

[@anonitachi7488]

​@@Craig121000don't let them trade or setup in your country. Simple

[@TheBurdenOfHope]

Privatise the profits, socialise the debts. This government have ripped the heart out of this country

[@Craig121000]

Incorrect, the voting public did this to themselves.

[@perrymason866]

@@Craig121000the propaganda campaigns have been heavily invested in it. Don’t be too quick to continue dividing the working class. Anybody seeing the light is welcome to help us to make the world a better place.

[@Surveillance-Ys]

​@@Craig121000 what part of the public voted for sunak?!?

[@PandyBong]

@@Surveillance-Ys They voted for Johnson who was even worse...

[@TheBurdenOfHope]

@@Craig121000 I disagree. on the basis that people are co-opted into voting as their civic duty without telling them our political and economic systems are rigged against them. If voting made a difference we wouldn’t be allowed to do it.

[@kanedNunable]

people on 85k a year have convinced people on 30k a year that people on 85quid a week are the problem.

[@andrew_b_uk]

Do you really believe that someone earning less than £5,000 per month after tax is rich?

[@AverageJoeVideoGames]

Are they not? Not billionaire rich, but incredibly comfortably well off.

[@simonmaskell365]

They are. Earn more spend more. The ones on 85k pay more Tax than ones on 30k. And people on £85 a week pay no Tax. The first £12.500 is Tax Free.

[@miyahtallulah]

Hard working people pay high taxes to subsidise poverty. The poor should be thankful. Elsewhere, they work or die.

[@Rapscallion2009]

Or. People earning 100k a day have convinced people earning 30k a year that people earning 100k a year are the problem.

[@TheGatesOfFire]

We're talking about hungry children and the tory wants to tell us how wonderful HE is. Pathetic

[@jennet388]

👏👏👏

[@davidpearn2484]

Well said.

[@jake751]

Starmer is just as bad or even worse.

[@MrFoffof]

​@@jake751prove it.

[@TalesOfWar]

@@jake751 Stop reading the Mail. If you truly believe that then you haven't even bothered to actually take a half seriously look at things.

[@tonyaltass8290]

The real injustice is MPs get subsidised meals whilst being in the top 10% of income earners .But begrudge starving children receiving a subsidised breakfast.

[@NotThatOneThisOne]

Anyone who is in a position of power and wealth who says they got there through "sheer hard work" has got their head stuck where the sun doesn't shine. Millions of people are working hard. Hard work in itself doesn't lead to power. Luck and connections do.

[@Mounhas]

Yep, this “hard work” waffling winds me up. Sunak and his ilk got obscenely rich thru gloried gambling, not hard work.

[@royboy565]

I laugh when right wingers say work harder if you want more money. If your job is limited to 40 hours working harder makes no difference unless you are on some sort of piece work rate. They should say get a second job and work another 20 or 30 more hours and have no life or sleep.

[@randomdaveUK]

Agreed. Many rich folk are born into it and don't have to work a day in their lives, could live off the dividends and pay no mortgage for life. That's an extreme example of course, but a lot of the wealthy had wealthy parents

[@user-bt8cz9nv4x]

Some of these people who grew up in poverty and became rich through hard work seem to forget that they were once poor and now look upon all poor people as potential ‘scroungers’! It beggars belief!

[@vincentcrowley5196]

​@@jamesarnold7253 there's an old phrase that sums it up "if hard work made you rich, donkeys would be millionaires".

[@biggmick1]

Shailesh Vara is 1 of 4 Tory MP's refusing to answer questions about tax avoidance on the sale of their 2nd homes. He made £1.6 million profit on a property that the tax payer paid the mortgage on so his claims of getting where he is through hard work is not the whole truth by a long way. Tax avoidance in Britain makes benefit fraud look like loose change.

[@jennet388]

And they've got the audacity to go after Angela Raynor for supposedly picketing £1,500, which took place 10 years ago & before she became an MP😂

[@attackpatterndelta8949]

Anyone who tells you that they got where they are through hard work alone, is a liar.

[@paulpaynter2627]

When ordinary folk realise we lose much more money through tax avoidance and evasion than through benefit fraud.... but yet more money and resources are pumped into chasing benefit fraud. The capitalist system is like this by design.

[@daviesjacques8342]

if you were watching & listening to our so called representatives you would realise they only make out they see u at election time , between elections they are filling pockets

[@deanjohn433]

85k a year is double the average wage let that sink in for a minute also some of these MPs get paid for talks and newspaper articles are on the board of some big companies yet they sit there and pretend they have the moral high ground if the average person did what these scumbags do and did side jobs for cash in hand outside of work and hid it they would either massively fine them or put them in prison as for benefit fraud it’s a small blip to what these guys rob off the taxpayers. The best argument I’ve heard is some said if the government wanted to stop drug crimes they could do it over night with heavy sentences and putting enough money into the police force to deter corruption. If a police officer on 36k gets offered 20k a year to turn a blind eye they will because there wage is so pitiful I’ve heard of police officers going to food banks plus nurses

[@jeffreyjoshuarollin9554]

It’s sad that some poor people vote Tory.

[@jennet388]

Very sad

[@Craig121000]

They only have themselves to blame.

[@annettehadley9718]

Go figure... I'll never understand it !

[@anthonyrybicki1000]

No it's the modestly well off whi vote Tory often out of feudal cringe mentality towards the rich or titled. Not that much has changed in Britain since 1066.

[@hohohohehehe6910]

@Craig121000 the Tories are very clever with their dog Whistles

[@yetidodger6650]

Tory boy telling us the £400 billion has to be paid back.....by the poor.

[@artroomantics]

And the majority of it went to the rich!

[@criticalthinkingcap4196]

So if unemployment is at its lowest, why go after the disabled??? I just can't with these lot anymore.....

[@royboy565]

Tories aren't called the nasty party for nothing.

[@andrewrood9200]

the tories have always hated the poor

[@samanthapatrick4345]

The Tories are throwing up smoke screens by stoking up culture wars against vulnerable minorites to take attention away from themselves, if they need a distraction it's the most vulnerable in our society that takes the brunt in these culture wars.

[@kanedNunable]

they have gone after the disabled ever since cameron won. dont forget that.

[@user-or9ut4zw6v]

It’s a lie companies are issuing redundancy left right and centre!!

[@brucemacdougall6121]

These conditions started before COVID, and using it as an excuse for abrogating the cruelty of a Tory government is nonsense. Foodbank's should not be needed in Britain.

[@KidarWolf]

The objective of all charities is that they someday won't be needed, because it means they succeeded in their mission statement. I'm sure the Trussel Trust is one of the charities which aims to make itself obsolete. Sadly, under the ravages of the nasty party, they've become more needed than ever.

[@TalesOfWar]

Too many people seem to forget when the Tories voted AGAINST feeding hungry children during the pandemic, and voting AGAINST given the NHS workers a pay rise while singing their praises.

[@neilburton6121]

Sunak worked in the banking sector when it crashed....mmm,that to was also used to introduce austerity for the poor,many of which died,yet they made wealth from it all,....

[@mikeserridge4547]

​@@TalesOfWarFurlough, fuel support. This did not come off the magic money tree. It was borrowed and surprise surprise, it has to be paid back.

[@TalesOfWar]

​@@mikeserridge4547 What about the fake PPE contracts and track and trace fiasco? Track and trace alone cost more than half of the entire furlough scheme and it didn't work. At all. They wouldn't even need to have done it if they didn't cancel the existing scheme we had in place after SARS during "austerity". The NHS actually had a world leading track and trace system already in place before the Tories destroyed it, along with the rest of the NHS and country. Also, these kids will remember which party chose to let them starve when they come of voting age, and chose not to help those on the front lines of saving lives.

[@danielcarter94]

Conservatives are SO out of touch with the average person.

[@alisonlaing5626]

Them...........and MOST politicians..........................

[@deanrogers8381]

Why?

[@user-qd2hl9lu3h]

Always been the same. I can't stand them.

[@tracywatts1459]

In Canada we hate our liberal NDP leaders . Our next election can’t be soon enough and it appears in the polls we are looking at a future Conservative majority .

[@TheGeneReyva]

@@deanrogers8381 Rich toffs that went to expensive private schools.

[@danielglasgow8163]

They get £85k a year, at least and get their expenses paid for. Why is it that their expenses are never touched but peoples benefits and pensions are?

[@user-bc9mv8oc9k]

If you don't have a home, and tax payer money pays for one in a less than desirable area so you're not homeless; it's "housing benefit" and you're a scrounger,. If you already have a home and tax payer money pays for an extravagent second home in London, it's "MP expenses" and no one bats an eye.

[@bigdaveo397]

When you say "they" you mean all MPs? Of all parties.

[@Surveillance-Ys]

..and taking votes on if they should get a wage rise..guess the result??

[@jujutrini8412]

@@bigdaveo397 Everyone in this country knows that MPs of all parties get the same wage. The ones in the cabinet get a ministerial salary as well. It’s not a secret!

[@bigdaveo397]

@jujutrini8412 yes I know. I believe the Governments ministers have been paid additional salary for 200 years.

[@paulurwin1232]

I just cant understand why ANYONE on less than 100K would vote Tory - they DONT care about you !!!!

[@gailforce]

Because it makes them feel like a big shot

[@jake751]

No and I wouldn't vote labour because it is a tory b team.

[@deanrogers8381]

And you think Labour politicians care any more about you. FFS! How nieve are you then?

[@ScandalUK]

@@deanrogers8381 yes you're right but that doesn't make the OP wrong

[@deanrogers8381]

@@ScandalUK, oh it does!

[@missyprime8198]

It's a disgrace that MP's get the benefit of £360 per day for meals & expenses whilst tightening the thumbscrews for those with long term health conditions struggling on £85 a week. I'm almost 50, I worked hard for decades until a physical health issue I was born with got so bad I was classed as unfit for work, life has been a non stop struggle for survival for me for the last decade & now I'm in a state of fear that I'll be told I have to either get a job or lose my paltry benefit. No employer would want to touch me due to the combination of my age & health. I paid my tax & NI for decades but now I'm called a benefit scrounger.

[@Catmadjen---1974]

Exactly same here

[@daviniarobbins9298]

Its the Lords that get £365 a day for just showing up.

[@politics392]

Get the conservatives out 😊

[@Craig121000]

You'll get the same when Labour win the election.

[@jake751]

Red and blue

[@dekmackie]

​@@jake751life was so much better with a labour government

[@fionaburnett8578]

Simple

[@drastberry1454]

The biggest benifit cheats are the torys..

[@citizen530]

Richest PM presides over biggest drop in living standards, I wonder if there is a connection?

[@jake751]

No because starmer/ blair sing from the same hymn sheet.

[@orchidhouse297]

Tory corruption is seen by the tories as OK. Enforced poverty should not be OK. As an ex-food bank assistant manager the treatment of families on Universal Credit I witnessed was appalling. "Get a better job!" There are none. Five weeks of benefits withheld - single dad who took his youngest daughter to hospital A&E, on the bus and couldn't get to his benefit interview in time. That is how we treat our most vulnerable. Shameful.

[@Paul-eb4jp]

I was fairly comfortable on £37,000 a year so an MP's wage of £85,000 plus very generous expenses is far from modest, the problem is it puts them in touch with the wealthy and out of touch with the poor.

[@garagenigel]

They also don't actually have to do anything! They aren't on the clock or don't have to put a time sheet in! They often employ family members in the "office" and can work as many other jobs as they like!

[@mikemacdt1]

What a lot of people don’t understand. Is there any employee of an MP has to be paid out of that £85,000. It has to cover all his work expenses

[@edprince753]

they make more than double that from kick backs from lobby groups and corporations

[@Paul-eb4jp]

@mikemacdt1 Employees (often family) are paid from expenses not from the £85,000.

[@mikemacdt1]

@@Paul-eb4jp untrue

[@stevejackson7625]

Classic Tory, complete deflection. Tough times that YOU made worse, mate.

[@gail9299]

Agreed. But didn't make it worse for him and his ilk. Made it better for them and that's why they like this system.

[@davidwatts7615]

The 'I used to be poor but now I'm rich due to my own efforts' argument is patently absurd!

[@jujutrini8412]

Every rich person feels that they deserve to be rich.

[@garyowen4112]

people generally become rich by using the poor's efforts

[@alfonsohorcajada4399]

Shameful that they are still blaming war for failing for 14 years....

[@TalesOfWar]

This is even more hilarious when you look at the background of many of these "self made" millionaires too, who inherited generational wealth or some other form of privilege like going to the "correct" schools.

[@limpethead]

Who you talking about? The Labour front bench? All multi millionaires.

[@kev8816]

Dont forget they gave themselves another pay rise, theyre on 92k a year now arent they?

[@kanedNunable]

20% pay rise in the last few years whilst inflicting poverty on the public

[@Anigmama]

Shailesh Vara ‘I was able to come to this country, went to a properly funded, properly staffed school with free school meals, then went on to a red brick university FOR FREE! Now I’m a Tory and want to stop kids from having the same support and opportunities! ‘

[@l3eatalphal3eatalpha]

Searched for this comment, was going to post the same :)

[@nathanprice1841]

Completely tone deaf. A tory saying don't blame conservatives for working hard and being well off....while stripping the poorest in society of more money. We need this government out ASAP!

[@geoffk7174]

The abundance of foodbanks has been the only growth of the last 14 years of the Tories.

[@sandrafrancis3631]

Every single time the Tories mention the Pandemic and Ukraine, but miss out, Brexit and Liz Truss!! Other countries went through the Pandemic too but they have recovered better than the UK. Brexit has damaged this country and Truss caused people to pay higher mortgage rates making things tighter. Other countries like France have lots of state owned nuclear energy which means they didn't see the energy rises that the UK did. The Tories have been incompetent that's the real problem! The sooner they go the better! G.E. now!

[@Skygrey2943]

They're not incompetent. They have had the best education the world can offer. They know what they are doing. It's the party for the rich to serve the rich. It's no mistake that the poorer are becoming poorer and the rich richer. This has been the trend for the last 40 years. The Tories are waging class war.

[@royboy565]

They have been worse than incompetent. Johnson springs to mind.

[@brendaparsons2026]

👏👏👏👏👏

[@jake751]

Remember starmer does exactly the same. Vote green or independent

[@garagenigel]

​@@jake751Vote Green so that they can tax us to death and give us a grant for a heat pump! or vote independent which basically means they are extreme left or extreme right but dare not admit it! No thanks!

[@royboy565]

Having a job doesn't mean you are not in poverty. UK has a low wage economy. Tories want the workers on low pay to keep them in their place.

[@DeborahWalkerXOXO]

They have no issue subsidising companies like Tesco. If, on a minimum wage, you can't pay rent? You have to get housing benefits? Income support? Just because it's called Universal Credit now, it doesn't change the fact that WE are supporting business to not pay US to live.

[@misslanapaulford]

It's been a long time since it paid to work and live. Rent, food and utilities are that expensive..

[@FDCAFOK]

​@@misslanapaulfordNow it's work to pay the government and big corporations.

[@misslanapaulford]

@@FDCAFOK Bingo ⭐️👍 Spot on. Explain to me why we subsidise large companies who make billions...

[@FDCAFOK]

@@misslanapaulford That's a Tory thing, all for the rich.

[@whatwentwrong4599]

Cry me a river. The Tories the height of insulting and embarrassing.

[@aacmove]

UK government wasted nearly £10bn on unused Covid PPE. How much food could you buy for £3000 for each of those individuals who visited a food bank?

[@robinmcara793]

And the Rwanda swap cost billions too

[@jonboymk1bridgemaryfront889]

Ordinary people fuel the economy not the mega rich. We spend our hard earned cash in shops and other economy. Trickle down economics was a blag. It's been PROVEN you and me keep the economy going every day

[@jordoncampbell5118]

M.p salary is £91.000 they received over £5.000 pay rise. Why did tory donors and cronies receive billions of pounds ppe contacts.

[@allanmcdowall6568]

Show me the paperwork that says all those billions were spent on covid and not freinds of family members and freinds down pub.lets see the receipts.

[@jennet388]

👏👏👏

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

One thing that gets forgotten all the time about Furlough payments is Ministers are always happy to quote X amount of pounds was paid out during furlough but they always hide the fact that around a third went straight back to Government in tax and national insurance, so as usual its a manipulated figure.

[@MrJones285]

Energy prices have gone up because of the war....yet energy companies have been making record profits.

[@kanedNunable]

our prices increased 120%. they went up 3% in france.

[@paulsawtell3991]

Energy prices have soared because politicians of all parties gave up on our energy self sufficiency; not only that but they demolished our power stations so there can be no turning back even when we need it, like now. And those on the left are always those who shout loudest when anyone suggests we should do something about it.

[@problemsolverthinktank859]

The tories - i cannot take the gaslighting anymore

[@Craig121000]

You'll get more when Starmer enters No. 10.

[@problemsolverthinktank859]

@@Craig121000 even if that's the worst case scenario / it's better than this. If rather take that chance and vote labour

[@kdog4587]

Ali SHOULD NOT HOST THIS if he cannot stay impartial! His role is to facilitate both sides answering questions posed to them but jumps in to tory defense time after time! Ridiculous! He needs to BE ON the panel if he wants his opinion heard.

[@royboy565]

Yes, this ALI isn't the greatest.

[@Paul-eb4jp]

BRING BACK SANGITA.

[@jake751]

Can't stand him

[@S.Mir786]

All LBC reps are Tory rent boys!

[@pippoplfc]

Like 90% of the media.

[@globalist1990]

If you can't manage £85k, how can you hope to manage a country?

[@mrdaveythebaby]

Have some sympathy, do you know how much Dom Perignon champagne costs?

[@norawright807]

I know. The price is scandalous. The £300 per day expenses, plus the £85,000 pa pay of the lowliest MPs ...well, how on God's green earth are these poverty stricken unfortunates meant to survive?​@mrdaveythebaby

[@mrdaveythebaby]

@norawright807 Imagine how expensive interior designers are for taxpayer fundes homes. No wonder MPs need 3 or 4 jobs.

[@keithpanton7486]

@@norawright807 Imagine having an allowance per day more than people have to exist on per MONTH on UC, and complaining that the poor are having it too easy.

[@norawright807]

@@keithpanton7486 They're a political Lord Byron. Mad, bad, and dangerous to know.

[@atlasgabriel5461]

I agree wholeheartedly with everything Silkie said, it’s the reason I’ll vote tactically for ANYONE that will get the Tories out of government.

[@acerimmer1023]

Hearing her saying let a politician live on £85 PW was music to my ears......I'd love to see that

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

There are some MPs who have tried it to prove a point etc......the difference is its a lot easier to do it short term knowing you will soon go back to your comfortable life compared to someone who is facing it for what could be the rest of their entire life.

[@acerimmer1023]

@@malcolmstockbridge2569 absolutely.....they have no concept or concern for the despair poverty brings

[@paulsawtell3991]

It's plain daft because the cost of running your office be you Con or Lab are those which ordinary folk do not have to bear.

[@Human_Herbivore]

There was a book about how to deal with a pandemic but the government decided it wasn't needed.

[@jamyDodger]

WH O decided they didn't need it and we shuda done it their way... No one wanted us to do it our way.

[@kanedNunable]

we also had PPE stocks that the tories got rid of just before covid hit.

[@anthonymcnamee6297]

Track and trace 32 billion wasted there 🔵🤡

[@craftinghome]

Especially when they were offered better systems for free!

[@dandycat2204]

Don't forget HS2. How much did we waste on that?? I said all along that they were NEVER gonna build it past Birmingham, it was just to allow ( force) the workers out of London. Go live in Birmingham and "commute" in.

[@foxyboiiyt3332]

It's amazing the way the government isn't responsible for anything bad. Its almost like people expect the government to actually run things!

[@prideofdurham4776]

That is £85k plus expenses! Before I retired I worked the first two hours for NOTHING due to food, bus fares and clothing costs that I had to pay.

[@martinobrien7110]

Best Question Ever . The Tories are Blind to Broken Britain .

[@kanedNunable]

they broke it so they could financially gain

[@maneshipocrates2264]

Those kids will be the ones to pay back the debts anyways. Why not borrow and feed them? Most politicians and rich people do not grow the economy. Ordinary people grow the economy.

[@AgentGreyFox]

Tories don't live in reality.

[@edprince753]

no they live in luxury paid for by you

[@ScandalUK]

We never saw food banks under Labour when I had kids. If I was that age now I certainly wouldn't be having children. It's sad in so many ways.

[@ignoranceisbliss6259]

Michele mone isn't struggling.

[@TheBurdenOfHope]

Does someone want to show the Tories the chart with our debt to GDP ratio since they’ve been in government?

[@kanedNunable]

yup. they claimed labour bankrupted the country yet they tripled the debt labour left without building anything.

[@ramel684]

I used to volunteer in a food band before covid, the number of people using the service was rising qickly for a long time before the pandemic

[@jasoncooper9391]

TORIES OUT OF TOUCH

[@karlwilliams2703]

Don't think so it goes for all politicians

[@jake751]

Red and blue

[@thesmithjs]

The saddest people on this planet are working class tories...

[@tracyharrison9536]

The 400b went to the rich...Gary's Economics, anyone.

[@alexward2051]

Gary is a modern day hero

[@ianstringer4086]

No it's not I'm sick of multi millionair taking the pizz,not in touch no reality .worst I've ever known I'm 64

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

The Beatles wrote a song just for you :)

[@zwartepoesje]

I grew up in a Britain in which foodbanks DIDN'T EVEN EXIST.

[@asajelfs8170]

So the UK is starving with the Tories in charge. Is it the 1800's. Can we expect convicts in Australia?

[@terrya8989]

Things are not great here either mate.

[@jennet388]

That's exactly how they want it. Thicko Boris said it was better in the 1800's as people were easier to control 😡

[@KidarWolf]

No not Australia, the Tory party has already made a statment of intent. They're starting out with the idea of deporting people to Rwanda.

[@deanosaur808]

We only send skilled workers to Australia now

[@kevinskiles2033]

Anyone who thinks they succeeded solely by their own hard work are mistaken.

[@paulsawtell3991]

I am certainly not mistaken!

[@star-ed7fj]

3:03 😮 it's scary where did £400 bilion go. On friends contracts and we need to pay for it , we are the 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑 🐑

[@kanedNunable]

more like 2 trillion which has been added to the debt. yet they claim labour bankrupted us.

[@originalbadboy32]

Energy prices went up about 6 months before the war even started. So the MP that said that is a lying toad.

[@royboy565]

I'd like to discuss it with you but I haven't got the energy, and I can't afford it.

[@michaelconway9668]

Another words got nothing to say 😂

[@djKeu]

Don't mention the Brexit

[@royboy565]

Brexit..... Sorry. We mustn't upset the brexiteers who know a benefit is just around the corner.

[@problemsolverthinktank859]

Maybe the Rich need to take one for the team, be patriotic and pay more tax! That would literally solve the problem

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

Whilst you are correct that those including the rich should contribute more sadly it wont even scratch the surface of the problem the Tories have created, yes it would help but it would be far off solving the problem we are currently in.

[@problemsolverthinktank859]

@@malcolmstockbridge2569 if companies like Amazon and BP were taxed efficiently - The Top 10% paid their taxes properly and didn't try to hide monies in offshore tax havens - i think we can undo the damage done by brexit to our economy, and efficiently fund public services, and even pay those in the public sector inflation rate pay. These business have made soooooooooo more profit in an economic downturn.… that cannot be right, they need to contribute!

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

@@problemsolverthinktank859 I see 100% where you are coming from...where companies are concerned it really wont work, when the banks were punished for making too much money all that happened was they introduced account fees to grab the money back...when a water company gets fined for whatever reason the bills go up to pay for it...fuel companies, insurance tax....all of these things end up back on our plate and it is us that ends up paying the money you think will put things right !

[@Oddball_KellysHeroes]

Every child should have breakfast and a midday meal at school!

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

Agree 100%...the problem is the media will wheel out a 'normal' family in desperate need and stand them in front of their 100 inch tv with tatoos all up their arms with gold dripping off their ears...sadly this kills the credibility of the argument and innocent children slip through the net and still go hungry right now. The media know full well they are doing it and its aim is to make the population divisive.

[@paulsawtell3991]

Every child should have responsible parents...

[@blue_tree_meadow]

No-one is saying that the Tories are, "Evil," just out of touch and in power too long. However I can honestly say that this current government are the worst I've seen in my lifetime. Never before have I seen a government that is so blatantly, corrupt, dishonest, incompetent, inept and out of touch with reality. People will put up with a lot, but one thing that always eventually becomes the straw that breaks the camels back is unfairness, no-one puts up with that forever.

[@Mikeysof1]

£85k a year IS rich.

[@kundaibwawa8704]

It’s not

[@Mikeysof1]

@@kundaibwawa8704 it is for me!

[@krishnagondhea7428]

Not in London

[@genesis1765]

Still going about that note about "no money left" from labour. Again it is tradition started by the tories.

[@MikeStock88]

It shows how pathetic they are

[@uniquerebeljaney3639]

It worked in the past, so they still trot out that nonsense.

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

Much like Starmer and the Saville thing has been proved to be false soooo many times.

[@paulsawtell3991]

Are you saying it wasn't true then?

[@MikeStock88]

@@paulsawtell3991 yes it's a joke

[@kalebdaark100]

What's the likelihood that this Government would want to send Shailesh Vara to Rwanda today if he made the same journey from Uganda that he made in 1964? 🤔

[@djstuc]

They’re one of 2 things, Rich or Incredibly gullible.

[@MikeStock88]

Sick and tired of government mouthpieces patting themselves on the back for furlough There was no alternative, you cannot let a large portion of the workforce go unemployed that has drastic concequences. last i checked said workforce is the one that will pay it back We know from history what happens

[@user-ur2nn6xn9v]

I totally agree. If furlough hadn’t been paid then all these companies would have gone bankrupt and all those people would have become unemployed. Hence the government would have had to pay out millions (if not billions) in unemployment benefits, with absolutely zero chance of getting any of it back through taxation

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

And lets not forget around a third of all those furlough payments went straight back to the Government in tax and Ni.

[@deanosaur808]

Meanwhile, during the pandemic I was scavenging food from bins because the DWP stopped my sickness benefits 😠

[@paulgoddard6679]

That's because they are £91000 a pay plus there other sideline jobs is disgusting

[@CADJewellerySkills]

You’re right. Not all tories are rich. Some are just gullible.

[@charliebigpotatoes8874]

If the unemployment figures are so great, then why go after benefit claimants ? 😂😂😂

[@mafiooato7233]

Most torys don't even pay tax in here anyway

[@hilarykirkby4771]

The Tories continue to blame everybody else for their own failings. The tory MP looks as though he's never gone without anything, despite what he says about his upbringing. The welfare system was obviously more generous then than it is now after 14 yrs of tory misrule.

[@zxcvbnm35125]

Wow, he actually brought the note up

[@simonstevens5334]

They always do, they have nothing left other than a joke note from 2010, I suspect when Labour get into office it won't even be a joke, there will literally be nothing left in the coffers after the tories have ransacked us in their remaining time in power, they know they are gonna lose but they'll make it so we lose aswell.

[@grahamdhv3812]

What a cheek. When Tories leave the note will be the size of a flag with what they've done to National Debt. Also, chancellors have left a note since the days of Reginald Maudling, so the media are gaslighting as usual.

[@sandrafrancis3631]

The debt when Labour left in 2010 was nothing compared to what it is now!

[@royboy565]

​@@sandrafrancis3631in 2010 it was 980billion now it's 3 trillion.

[@drunkengamer1977]

​@@grahamdhv3812They always leave out that the note tradition was started by the Conservatives in the 60's

[@NotThatOneThisOne]

In terms of COVID, the amount of money fed out to people to stop wealthy companies going under has directly led to inflation and the huge increase in inequality. Get that money back through taxation.

[@sardav160479]

If someone has to claim UC while working its not the individual whos on benefits its the company whos getting cheap labour without the pain how many bosses of these companies are on large salaries

[@tracyharrison9536]

The govt could tax the very rich

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

That wont even scratch the surface of the problem.

[@paulsawtell3991]

And that was tried in the mid 70s. The result? They left the country so they paid us nothing. There are no such simple answers.

[@mrdaveythebaby]

Tories always talk about the problem of debt, I imagine our kids would rather have a national debt if it's accompanied by decent living standards, functionning public services and a liveable environment.

[@royboy565]

Tories have so far racked up a record debt of 3 trillion. Main reason is 14 years of very little growth in the economy. This is the worst govt ever to hold office in the UK.

[@pritapp788]

"The problem of debt" which they actually compounded, and not in small measure. And they use debt not to invest or build infrastructure, but to fund pensions increases for their old voters and to pay people for not working during Covid.

[@mrdaveythebaby]

@pritapp788 It's weird because I'm sure they all take in debt in their professional lives and then invest it in their business to make a profit.

[@mrdaveythebaby]

@pritapp788 debt is a problem if you take it on to give the cash away. If you take on debt to invest, you end up with more money. Obviously the Tories know that.

[@paulsawtell3991]

There you are then; the economics of the madhouse. Their kids will then have to pay off the massive debt and so on.

[@zxcvbnm35125]

Their talking points haven't changed in years. Do they think it's working or are they just too thick to think of something else?

[@andrewmason7207]

shouldnt be foodbanks full stop

[@iwtyh1276]

The manage to find 300 million for Rwanda

[@gordonmackenzie4512]

The minimum wage is far too low. Increase it to at least £15 per hour. Higher wages and higher taxes on the highest earners is the answer. Well it has been in the happiest, wealthiest and best run countries in the world. Mostly Scandinavian Countries.

[@mikecook1537]

Why should the rich pay for people's lifestyle who are too lazy to work

[@tycoondude5446]

@@mikecook1537if employers paid a fair wage, it would actually encourage more people to work. Wake up and smell the coffee.

[@24Roxyx]

52k per year should be minimum wage for all and taxed at 20%

[@mikecook1537]

@@tycoondude5446 I hear this all the time & it doesn't have any substance. My friend has just gone back to investment banking after 11 years off & she's on £120k because she has a skill she can offer that company. How much do you expect companies to pay low skill workers? If a person works in Tescos or a shop worker how much would you expect that person to be paid given the company could get anyone to do the job.

[@mikecook1537]

@@tycoondude5446 banking, finance, tech, engineering, most skilled industries pay a fair wage.

[@barrymurphy3175]

They have fudged the out of eork numbers, with 18-25 ur olds only finding on average 25hr contracts, just enough for them to not qualify for benefits, none of them can save or survive without parental help. Give them a chance to live.

[@adamtovey8721]

And they wonder why tories are about to lose by a landslide.

[@HussainHussain-ck7zy]

FEED BRITAIN NOT ISREAL 🎉

[@Jonnyonthespot123]

We have the money for both, let's do both. And if we don't have the money for both we must tax the rich even harder to get the money. They've got more than enough

[@Educationbeatspropaganda101]

Laughable ​@@johnhumphreys4265

[@Craig121000]

You can't tax the rich.

[@008juggy]

Don't forget Palestine and Ukraine. Stop foriegn aid also..

[@herrglotzenschnitzengruber1510]

Or both?

[@TalesOfWar]

The "no money left" note thing really riles me up every time they say it. It was BS then and it's even more BS now. It was a joke all governments leave to the incoming lot, and even if it was true, they've had FOURTEEN YEARS to FIX it! "There have been tough times recently". Yeah, they started in 2010.

[@paulsawtell3991]

Can you provide evidence the note left was as you claim BS?

[@paulnicholls4791]

There is no limit to expenses the politicians claim,

[@morganbartfield5457]

what annoys me the most is how the unemployed and disabled have less rights than prisoners. prisoners get food and utilities regardless of any crime they have committed and they dont have to work for it either.and when they leave jail they will be given somewhere to live and benefits. yet its ok for the govt to stop someones food and electric supply by proxy, even though they are a law abiding citizen. and people with mental health issues have barely any chance of getting a decent job and even less chance of promotion. you are made to feel employers are doing you a favour allowing you to work for them. who wants a job collecting trolleys for minimum wage for 30 years? why should the disabled have to put up with it?

[@phillaysheo8]

It's sad you got rid of Sangita

[@mrphgil974]

3:30 liar. Inflation has far outstripped wage increases over the last 14 years.

[@ericstevens2554]

Food Banks it's 2024 cant remember the last time a tory used one

[@kanedNunable]

we pay them £25 a day food allowance!

[@paulsawtell3991]

I don't think Corbyn, Starmer or Lammy ever used one either, to be fair.

[@fl3shr0t]

Disheartening to see the elites and politicians exploiting and neglecting their own citizens like in America. We looked up to the UK for hope and guidance.

[@robparry1308]

No A to Z on handling a pandemic, but you managed to write one on how to transfer the income tax coffers into your friends and sponsor’s back pockets. Its shocking and should be seriously investigated!

[@veronicabeckford-tongs409]

No money left but debt was lower than it is now. Benefits in relation to comparison with other similar countries is the lowest.

[@mandriod5255]

£85k a year with expenses and allowances and subsidies including food and drink and what about the elephant in the room? It begins with B

[@malcolmstockbridge2569]

as much as we would love to pay MPs £85 per year Im guessing you mean 85k !...

[@paulsawtell3991]

Don't forget labour MPs get and will get the same? Why not name them as well? Or perhaps come out and argue that Labour MPs should hand it all back?

[@mandriod5255]

@@malcolmstockbridge2569 whoops well spotted

[@SarahTheNearlyInSP]

Well said Sian!!

[@deanrogers8381]

Train drivers are on £65+ bonues + overtime. Does this make them 'rich Torys ' ?

[@daviniarobbins9298]

It's laughable how this government thinks £85 a week is enough to live on. I recent bought £53 worth of food. It was barely 2 shopping bags worth and won't last a whole month let alone a week. On just 2 meals a day just to stretch it out as long as possible.

[@paulsawtell3991]

The Marxist masters have designed it so to sow the seeds of discontent just as they did with the strikes in the 1970s. Back then most working people had well-paid jobs for life. But nobody is going to want 'revolution' if they're happy with their lot.