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The Prime Minister is facing backlash after he was spotted in Greece with his wife Carrie on his second holiday in two weeks, while Britons face misery over cost-of-living crisis back in the UK.
Boris Johnson’s critics have said he is leading a ‘zombie government’, with Labour calling his final weeks ‘one big party’, as he was filmed in Greece.
The outgoing premier was seen shopping for groceries with his wife, Carrie, following their recent trip to Slovenia for their belated honeymoon.
The couple were seen adding a bottle of wine to their two shopping baskets in Nea Makri, a coastal town close to Athens, according to Greek website In.
The video then shows the Prime Minister packing his shopping into a bag at the tills, before it is loaded into a black SUV.
Mr Johnson’s father Stanley has a villa a few hours away in Horto.
Labour MP for the City of Durham, Mary Kelly Foy, shared her criticism for the Prime Minister on social media, in a commentary on ‘Boris Johnson’s Diary’.
‘Thursday: Announce no new help for people struggling to pay rising bills. Saturday: Holiday in Greece,’ she tweeted.
‘He’s laughing at you.’
The Prime Minister has been spotted with his wife in Greece on his second holiday in two weeks, while Britons face misery over cost-of-living crisis back in the UK
The outgoing premier was seen shopping for groceries with his wife, Carrie, as they filled baskets with food
The couple were seen in Nea Makri, a coastal town close to Athens, according to Greek website In
The Prime Minister is facing backlash after he was spotted in Greece with wife Carrie on his second holiday in two weeks
Another critic Tweeted: ‘We have reached the point where we can legitimately ask, does any British person care about the UK cost of living crisis less than Boris Johnson?’
‘On the evidence of the last few months it seems to make little difference if the prime minister is in the office or on holiday,’ a spokesperson for Labour told The Independent.
‘It’s all just one big party for Boris Johnson while the country struggles with the Tory cost of living crisis.’
On Thursday, Mr Johnson said that he could offer new types of support for energy bills as the country struggles with a cost-of-living crisis.
He made a surprise appearance at a crunch meeting with energy bosses in Number 10 — just days after Downing Street said he would not intervene in the cost-of-living crisis.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted a meeting on the Garden Terrace with Scott Mitchell, widow of the late Barbara Windsor, on August 10
Boris Johnson last week joined Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as he made a surprise appearance at a crunch meeting with energy bosses
Mr Johnson’s presence at the meeting was not expected, with Mr Zahawi and Mr Kwarteng previously thought to be the ministers who would lead the talks
The outgoing Prime Minister joined Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as they grilled gas and electricity company executives over soaring prices.
Already stuggling families were last week stung by new forecasts that showed energy bills for typical households are set to soar to more than £4,200 next year.
Mr Johnson’s presence at the meeting with 15 energy firms was not expected, with Mr Zahawi and Mr Kwarteng previously thought to be the ministers who would lead the talks.
As the Bank of England predicted the UK’s worst recession since the 1990s this month, the Prime Minister was on his belated honeymoon in the alpine report of Vila Planinka in the Jezersko region of Slovenia.
The resort, situated in a valley around half an hour from Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana, promises a soothing ‘balance of energies’ and where guests dine on bear prosciutto.
He told local media: ‘We’ve had an absolutely wonderful time. We’ve climbed every available mountain, we’ve jumped in the lakes, we’ve been on bicycles and we’ve had a wonderful time.’
Mr Johnson has recently come under pressure from business leaders to end a ‘summer of drift’ over the cost-of-living crisis, as he waits for his successor to be elected.
Labour has branded Mr Johnson ‘disgraceful’ for refusing to intervene as energy bills are estimated to be surging to ever higher levels.
With Mr Johnson now holding a caretaker role after announcing his resignation, Downing Street has insisted any decisions on further support for Britons should be left to the new prime minister.
Number 10 last week said that Mr Johnson would not be making ‘major fiscal interventions’ over rocketing household bills.
Mr Johnson repeated this message to energy bosses on Thursday, telling them that ‘significant fiscal decisions’ would be made by his successor.
This has prompted fury, with the PM being warned that waiting for either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak to succeed him will be ‘too late’ to avoid families from panicking about how they will afford to heat their homes this winter.
As he sees out his days in office, Mr Johnson has steered away from addressing major issues.
As he sees out his time in office, Mr Johnson also enjoyed a joy ride in a Typhoon jet
On Tuesday night, Mr Johnson was photographed using a skipping rope (above) and having a mock sword fight during a reception in the Downing Street garden
He has instead been seen enjoying himself with a ride in a Typhoon fighter jet, playing with military kit while meeting Ukrainian troops in Yorkshire, and also fitting in a visit with the special forces.
Last week, Mr Johnson was photographed using a skipping rope and having a mock sword fight during a reception in the Downing Street garden.
The PM’s honeymoon to Slovenia followed his wedding bash last month at the Cotswolds estate of billionaire Tory donor Lord Bamford.
The Johnsons were married last year, but could not hold a full-scale event due to Covid restrictions.
After his surprise appearance at Thursday’s meeting with energy bosses, Mr Johnson offered little hope of imminent extra support for families.
He said: ‘Countries around the world are feeling the impact of Putin’s damaging war in Ukraine.
‘We know that this will be a difficult winter for people across the UK, which is why we are doing everything we can to support them and must continue to do so.
‘Following our meeting today, we will keep urging the electricity sector to continue working on ways we can ease the cost of living pressures and to invest further and faster in British energy security.
‘We are continuing to roll out Government support over the coming months, including the second £324 instalment of the cost of living payment for vulnerable households, extra help for pensioners and those with disabilities, and the £400 energy bills discount for all households.’
No 10 declined to comment on the Prime Minister’s holiday in Greece.
Keir Starmer’s plan ‘would make crisis worse’: Liz Truss allies warn vow to freeze cap on energy bills is ‘pure socialism’… and would lead to higher taxes
ByMartin Beckford Policy Editor For The Daily Mail
Keir Starmer was last night accused of pursuing fantasy economics by suggesting a ban on energy bills rising this winter.
The Labour leader’s long-awaited proposal to help families struggling with the soaring cost of living is to freeze the energy price cap at its current level of £1,971 rather than letting it rise to £3,500 as expected.
He will say today he ‘wouldn’t let people pay a penny more’ than they now do for gas and electricity, saving the average household £1,000.
Labour said the £29billion policy is fully funded, would cut inflation – and would be paid for by widening the scope of the windfall tax on oil and gas producers and backdating it from May to January.
But senior Tories have branded the idea unworkable as energy firms are facing higher wholesale prices – which would risk them going bust if they are not allowed to pass costs on to consumers.
Keir Starmer (pictured on Friday) was last night accused of pursuing fantasy economics by suggesting a ban on energy bills rising this winter
Energy minister Greg Hands told the BBC yesterday: ‘We’ve got to remember energy price rises are set globally, they’re driven by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
‘We would have to find a way to compensate people [for] effectively trying to abolish that price rise, and that would inevitably lead to higher taxes.
‘So I think we have to be a little bit careful. Labour’s seemingly magical solution to just wish it all away – that will have consequences.’
Allies of PM hopeful Liz Truss (pictured speaking during a hustings event on August 11) say the price freeze is unworkable and would lead to higher taxes
Former minister Sir John Redwood, expected to be one of Liz Truss’s economics advisers if she becomes prime minister, said: ‘Banning price rises cannot work because companies need to be able to cover their costs.’
He said Labour’s plan risked following the model in Venezuela, where price controls on basic foods by the socialist government led to shortages and black markets.
He added: ‘If you want to see what happens, go to a pure socialist country. They discovered that if you try to keep the prices down there isn’t enough supply.’
Mr Redwood pointed out more than 30 energy firms went bust last year as wholesale prices surged while the price cap limited their ability to increase bills, leaving taxpayers to keep them afloat.
Mr Redwood added on Twitter: ‘If Labour thinks government can keep prices down by simply passing a law why don’t they propose we do that for food, clothes and many other things as well as for energy?
‘Try this and end up with empty shelves. The Venezuela model leads to poverty.’
The announcement from Sir Keir, who has returned from holiday, is likely to put the Tory leadership contenders under pressure to come up with fresh measures themselves, with 70 charities urging them to double the £1,200 pledged to low-income families so far to avert a ‘catastrophe’.
Miss Truss is prioritising tax cuts and is opposed to a bigger windfall tax, while Rishi Sunak has promised more support.
Whoever enters No 10 next month could also implement a multibillion-pound package reportedly drawn up on the orders of Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi.
The Labour leader’s long-awaited proposal to help families struggling with the soaring cost of living is to freeze the energy price cap at its current level of £1,971 rather than letting it rise to £3,500 as expected. Picture: file image
It would see energy bills cut by £400 through a technical change to the way the price cap works.
Climate change tsar Alok Sharma said: ‘To provide support with energy bills, particularly to help the most vulnerable, the new prime minister will need [to] deploy ‘bazooka’ measures – a peashooter approach won’t do.’
Last night Labour’s plan was supported by Luke Murphy of the Left-leaning think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research.
He said: ‘These proposals would prevent soaring energy bills from pushing millions into debt and destitution, and hold down ever rising inflation…’
Labour said it would raise £14billion by scrapping the £400 rebate for households this winter and £8billion by closing a windfall tax loophole giving energy giants a discount if they invest in the UK, with the last £7billion needed coming from lower debt interest payments as inflation falls.
