Shameful effort to help poorer people
Most local householders will now have received a Council Tax bill and an enclosed statement from HM Government offering a £150 rebate for residents in Bands A-D.
It also offers help with energy costs, actually a £200 repayable loan, and says that councils will receive £144 million to support vulnerable households.
This is shamefully inadequate from our wasteful and incompetent Government. Inflation is set to rise above 10 per cent and for many poorer people dependent on basic foods and inefficient heating it is already more than this.
My own energy supplier’s estimate for this year is more than double last year’s payments.
The money for councils, already stripped of funds repeatedly by Tory governments of the last decade, will amount to pennies per person and require more administration and costs.
Compare this with over £20 billion wasted on useless Covid materials and failed testing procedures and over £5 billion of dodgy Covid loans which will be written off by the Treasury.
A recent analysis by the New Economics Foundation predicts that soon almost half of children in Britain will be living in households unable to meet the cost of basic necessities.
This is truly scandalous in a rich nation with a record number of billionaires. The Prime Minister has repeatedly misled Parliament and the public with his denials of widespread poverty and sub-standard housing.
The whole government promotes meaningless propaganda about “levelling-up” while the nation slides into more debt and inequality.
Our local multi-millionaire Tory MP, Mr Rees-mogg, is one of these deceitful propagandists. He is now the Minister for Brexit Opportunity and Government Efficiency (how ridiculous!) and, living in his wealthy bubble with money stashed overseas, he will do nothing useful for people hit by economic hardship.
I urge people to protest by every means possible, including letters to the Prime Minister and active campaigning.
Local elections in May will be an opportunity to vote against a Tory Party running a callous and irresponsible government which neglects its citizens.
Steve Richards
Bath