Political commentator Carole Malone has hit out at Chancellor Rachel Reeves after she defended claiming expenses for energy bills at her second home.
Details emerged about the expenses after the Government’s plans to scale back winter fuel payments for pensioners soared through the Commons.
After being asked by GB News whether it’s fair for taxpayers to pick up the bill to heat her second home, she said: “Being a constituency MP means that you have to have a house in London as well as, of course, living in the constituency, and that’s the same for all MPs. Those are long-standing rules.”
But also speaking on GB News, Malone hit out at the Labour chancellor, accusing her of “hypocrisy”.
Carole Malone has lambasted Labour's 'hypocrisy'
GB NEWS / PA
“So you are on £158,000-a-year, your husband is well paid, and she’s saying she needed this money”, she said.
“Pensioners are on £10,500-a-year, and we have a chancellor taking away from society’s most vulnerable.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
“Yet, her and all the other Cabinet members have their snouts in the trough and are taking it for themselves.
“It makes my blood boil with rage that they can’t see the hypocrisy in this.”
Malone went onto discuss the Labour government’s decision to slash winter fuel payments, saying one particular case caused her great upset.
“I saw an older lady on the television the other week and it made me weep”, she said.
Labour's winter fuel allowance cut was debated on GB News
GB NEWS
“She was talking about only being able to have heating on at 13 degrees. She doesn’t turn it on at all.
“She’s terrified of what’s coming. I think this Government, which is supposed to look after the most vulnerable in society, they don’t get elderly people.”
The Chancellor has defended the cut, saying it’s a necessary means to help plug the “black hole” in public finances.
Reeves told broadcasters: “We faced a situation when I became Chancellor that there was a £22 billion black hole in the public finances this year.
Rachel Reeves has insisted the move is necessary
PA“That meant we had to make difficult decisions, tough decisions, to get a grip of those public finances so that we could bring stability back to the economy.
“These weren’t decisions that I wanted to make. They weren’t decisions that I expected to make, but in the circumstances that we faced it was absolutely right to make sure that our public finances were on a firmer footing.
“Because only through doing that do we have the chance to bring stability back to our economy and start to grow the economy after 14 years of stagnation.”