Through their own complacency and carelessness, ministers have condemned more Britons to suffer and starve
One day this week the prime minister promises that help with food and fuel prices will be announced in “the days to come”. The very next morning, one of his most senior ministers, Michael Gove, adopts a scouse accent and orders everyone to “calm down”. Surveys show that more than 2 million adults in the UK cannot afford to eat every day and the cabinet suggests it could help by relaxing the rules on MOTs. You might call this stuff a joke – only no one is laughing.
The government is right to point out that many of the forces driving up the cost of basics are global and affecting numerous countries all at once. But it is also high time that ministers from the party of individual responsibility looked themselves in the mirror and acknowledged how, through their own complacency and carelessness, they have expanded and intensified this crisis. A social emergency is already upon us and yet ministers continue to act as if they have all the time in the world. The result is that this year more people will suffer and starve. Part of the responsibility for this disaster can be laid squarely outside the doors of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
