THE state we’re in! British Gas have just drawn a direct debit from my account and presumably others which is a 350% increase on last month. A stomach dropping moment filled with terror for many who will, without being warned, suddenly be plunged into a domino effect of bouncing payments and empty bank accounts.

I’m one of the lucky ones who can cut corners to accommodate the rise. But this is not the kind of increase that the vast majority can assimilate with a swop to own-brand baked beans and a rummage down the back of the sofa! Furthermore, the corners I cut will mean that small businesses such as restaurants and pubs, self-employed gardeners, hairdressers and so on will suffer a drop in their own income just at the point where their own cost of living is soaring.

The government is boastful of its £400 one-off payment to be paid to all households as a credit onto their energy bill in October. But whereas for people on an MP’s salary, for whom this payment will cover an autumnal mini-break somewhere, for those households who were already living on the edge, it doesn’t even represent a delay to financial ruin.

So, what to do? And herein lies the problem. Politicians lie. Their personal driving motivation is re-election. It’s not surprising really – the feeling of importance, the drama, that attaches to being an MP is seductive and addictive.

Speak to any MP who lost their seat about the feelings of isolation and loss that follows being important one day and irrelevant the next. There’s a song called ‘Broadway Baby’ written by Stephen Sondheim that’s sung by an aging former star – the line ‘didn’t you used to be whoooozit’ painfully illustrates the bereavement felt by people who are no longer ‘celebrities’ in their communities. ‘Former MP/MEP’ is a sad caption to describe somebody who is still living. No sentence should begin ‘I used to be…’

So, we have two major problems. Firstly, the individual vanity of MPs who enjoy their status and are therefore loyal to their parties no matter what - ‘my party right or wrong’. Secondly, the fact that we have a government that is loyal to billionaires.

The purpose of government is not to help corporations make profits, the purpose of government is to look after its citizens and if occasionally the state needs to impose punitive measures on ‘the market’ then it should consider doing so as an emergency measure.

The Tories won’t do this because they believe in a deregulated free market which channels capital upwards and away from those who need it. Vulnerable families who are already living hand to mouth prior to 2019 are now in a position where the insistence on the free market is going to force them into destitution and hunger. This cannot be remedied by the usual Tory mantra of work more hours or find a new job because they have effectively pegged incomes for the majority at below a liveable standard.

Not enough Tories are going to rebel against the government to change the status quo because, frankly, they like being MPs. This is why the opposition parties have decided to ‘lie’ about what they believe in, in order to win back seats from the Tories at the next General Election. It’s why Labour and the Liberal Democrats are sounding more and more Brexit-supporting.

Men of the people Sirs Starmer and Davey have both confirmed that their parties are not ‘rejoin the EU parties’. So desperate are they for power, they have decided that the way to get back their ministerial cars is to fool Brexit voters into voting for them. In Liberal Democrat forums, there is much discussion about the ‘make Brexit work’ public statements.

The prevailing view is that we have to look like we accept Brexit in order to get Tory voters to support us. The ‘objection handler’ guidance is to say that there’s no point campaigning to rejoin because we don’t think the EU will say yes. This patronising treatment of voters is sickening. Not to mention stupid. I was once told to lie to the press by an elected Lib Dem. Naturally, I refused.

My experience of politics is that people will often vote for the person they trust not to fib. Even if they disagree on fundamentals, trust is often the deciding factor. And so it should be!

On a basic level, we voters, deserve and should demand truth from those who seek our votes. I don’t think the ends ever justifies the means when it involves deceit.  Do you?