Former Tory MP, Edwina Currie, found herself on the receiving end of Twitter’s fury after making a ridiculous comment about the cost of living crisis.
Catastrophe or not?
Currie’s tweet was a response to the following message from financial journalist and broadcaster Martin Lewis.
In his tweet, Lewis calls for Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak (whomever ends up being our next PM) to meet with him to discuss people’s worries about the cost-of-living crisis. Some effects of the crisis are already being felt with the worst to come. This winter lives may be at risk as energy bills are due to rise once again. So it is obvious why people would demand answers from the PM.
Currie did not seem too pleased with this request, and the wider criticism of the government’s response, or lack thereof, to the crisis. She quote retweeted Lewis’s tweet with the following:
In her tweet, she urged Lewis to avoid using words like “catastrophe” when describing the crisis. Her solution instead involves individualising the issue and placing the responsibility in the hands of those being affected. While individual efforts are needed in times like these, it is incorrect to suggest that the way to solve the issue relies solely on the individual. Especially when the issue was not created by an individual! Therefore, to say individual responses are what should be focused on is incorrect.
I would argue the opposite of Currie and say that the cost-of-living crisis is, in fact, a catastrophe. A new cap level for energy bills coming into place on October 1 will be set at £3,549. That’s an 80% increase from the previous cap set on April 1 of £1,971. If that’s not a catastrophe then I do not know what is.
Twitter’s Response to Currie
The general consensus on Twitter about Currie’s comments is that she appears out of touch and ignorant to the real impacts of the crisis.
Others have pointed out the double standards in Currie’s tweet, where she urges others to make individual changes to combat the crisis yet she comes from a very privileged position. A position in which she would significantly suffer the consequences of the crisis less than the general public.
Lewis also replied to Currie’s response to his first tweet.
Overall, you can see that Currie’s tweets were not taken well.
It is mostly because she is not considering the real and severe impacts the cost-of-living crisis is having. On top of that, she places responsibility for solving the issue in the hands of each individual. An issue which is impossible to solve or even manage by many in the UK.
Presently, the Enough is Enough campaign is holding rallies across the UK to pressure the government to adequately help tackle the crisis. Read more about the campaign here.