'But you have to pay it back, it sounds like a loan?'
Tory minister Greg Hands was roasted on BBC Question Time, after insisting that Rishi Sunak’s £200 repayable ‘discount’ on energy bills in October is not a loan, much to the disbelief of the audience and even presenter Fiona Bruce.
Discussing people’s rising energy bills, Hands, the MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “The Chancellor of the Exchequer launched a really important package in February, just two months ago to deal with the rise in bills, not deal with it completely, but actually £9 billion set aside, a £200 discount on energy bills, a £150 discount on council tax, additional funds to make sure the most vulnerable are able … give them assistance in paying their energy”.
He was interrupted by Fiona Bruce who said: “£200 is, of course, a loan” to which Hands replied: “It is not a loan, it is a discount, which you have to pay it back in the form of a levy.”
Bruce persisted: “But you have to pay it back, it sounds like a loan?”. Despite the Tory MP’s attempts to fool people, the question time audience was having none of it, as they shouted back: “It’s a loan.”
Asked if it was OK then for people not to repay it if it wasn’t a loan and a discount as Hands had insisted, he replied, “No I’m not saying that”, leading to laughter from the audience.
The scheme is part of a package announced by Sunak to help with the rising cost of living and energy bills. It is made up of two parts, a £150 council tax rebate and a £200 interest-free repayable ‘discount’ on their energy bills. Regardless of whether they received the £200, all households will then pay £40 instalments over five years via their bills.
Hands was then mocked online as clips of the exchange went viral. One social media user wrote: “After pretending a government loan is not a loan, Greg Hands MP is now pretending there’s a competitive energy market and we can all choose lots of different price options for our supplies at home.”
Labour MP Sarah Owen wrote: “Tory MPs: “It’s not a loan.”
“Everyone else: “IT’S A LOAN!”
“People have had enough of being patronised and laugh in the face of this utter nonsense answer on #bbcqt.
“Spoiler, if you have to pay something back it’s not a discount…it’s a loan.”
A parody Boris Johnson tweet added: “Greg Hands is quite right – the £200 energy discount is not a loan, it is just some money we let you have that must be paid back in full.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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