The Reform UK leader’s energy bill giveaway certainly grabs our attention – but it’s a distraction from the real winners and losers
You can already imagine the video.
A man stands in the middle of a suburban English street holding a wad of cash in his hands. Grinning at the camera he says: “I’m about to pay this entire street’s energy bills.” Cut to gliding drone footage of the neighbourhood. The man knocks on a front door and a bewildered looking woman answers in a fleecy dressing gown. “Congratulations, Carol. You’ve saved more than £1,000 this year!” High-energy electronic music swells to a climax as she gives him a hug. Then, a shot of the next neighbour receiving his prize, and another, and another, as a tally at the bottom right of the screen shows the total cash sum rising. Finally, the entire community is out on the street waving their hands with joy.
This is almost certainly the kind of content we’ll be treated to when Reform UK’s energy bill lottery is over. The party announced the “Nigel cut my bills” competition last month: for the price of your personal data – voting history, name, phone number and email – you can win the chance of Farage popping by to pay the energy bills for you and your neighbours for an entire year.
