They say “we’re all in this together”. But even now, in our hour of need, the Tories still don’t get it.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is throwing untold billions at businesses to keep them going through the pandemic.
Yet in a few months’ time, our oldest pensioners will lose their free TV licences.
In lockdown and self-isolation, the telly is a vital window on the world for the over-75s, keeping us informed and connected.
Time is running out, and as the July 31 deadline nears, the All-Party Group for Ageing and Older People at
Westminster has urged the Government to change course.
Parliament isn’t sitting, but almost two dozen Labour, Lib Dem and SNP MPs have signed a letter to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey asking them to think again.
Where are the signatures of so-called “One Nation” Conservative MPs who claim to speak and act for all the people, not just their business pals?
Under intense pressure from the public – and an 18,000 signature Mirror petition – the BBC announced a two-month stay of execution for concessionary licences.
The cost went up £3 this week to £157.50, and Beeb boss Lord Hall says the situation after that is “under review”. What is there to think about that we don’t know already?
Lord George Foulkes, chairman of the All-Party Group, says: “The pandemic has underlined how TV is vital for keeping people informed of the dangers and how to avoid them.”
That need will not go away in a matter of weeks. Ministers should say now that the Government will fund an extension to the end of the year – at least.
And then think again.
A generation that has lost so many to coronavirus deserves better than this silent Tory stinginess.
