A Tory Cabinet Minister has suggested families struggling with the cost of living crisis should buy own-brand value products in supermarkets.
George Eustice said that by going for cheaper “value” goods, families can “contain and manage their household budget”.
Asked in an interview what his advice was to people who want a Sunday roast with a chicken but cannot afford it, Eustice told Sky News: “Generally speaking, what people find is by going for some of the value brands rather than own-branded products – they can actually contain and manage their household budget.
“It will undoubtedly put a pressure on household budgets and, of course, it comes on top of those high gas prices as well.”
The patronising consumer advice came after Boris Johnson was shamed on Tuesday over his response to the cost of living crisis.
Confronted on Good Morning Britain by presenter Susanna Reid with real life examples of how rising prices are impacting people, the Prime Minister flanneled that the government had to do more without spelling out what could be done.
The comments came after shop prices increased at their fastest rate in more than a decade last month, according to the British Retail Consortium.
Scottish Lib Dem MP Wendy Chamberlain said the two car crash interviews on the cost of living crisis showed how out of touch Tory Ministers are.
The North East Fife MP said: “These comments show George Eustice and the Conservatives are living in a parallel universe. Families and pensioners who can’t afford their weekly shop need more help, not patronising advice from a clueless minister."
Pat McFadden MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: “This is woefully out of touch from a government with no solution to the cost of living crisis facing working people."
He added: “People are seeing their wages fall, fuel and food costs rise, and families are worried about how to make ends meet.
“It’s time for the Government to get real help to people rather than comments that simply expose how little they understand about the real struggles people are facing to pay their bills”.
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