Martin Lewis’ frustration at unhelpful cost-cutting advice was obvious on Monday, as he put his head in his hands while live on Good Morning Britain.
The financial journalist, known as the Money Saving Expert, was co-hosting the ITV morning show with Susanna Reid when he interviewed former Tory MP and TV personality Edwina Currie.
Having previously called on Lewis to “stop using words like catastrophe” over the cost of living crisis, Currie suggested people put tin foil behind their radiators to keep the heat in their homes and reduce energy bills.
She said: “Most people my age have lived in houses without central heating, but we are dependent on it now. And just that kind of little thing makes such a difference.”
The former Tory MP’s suggestion comes after NHS bosses took the “unprecedented” step of warning the government there would be a public health emergency this winter unless immediate action to curtail energy bills was taken.
With inflation already at 10.1%, forecasters at Citi investment bank also believe it could bounce over 18% come January, driven by energy bills.
A lot of Twitter users were therefore quick to tear into Currie’s advice, especially as the energy price cap is set to increase to £3,549 on October 1 – meaning there will be an increase in the current price of energy bills of 80%.
Although most people were responding to just a 30-second clip from Good Morning Britain where Lewis actually did not say anything, thousands of people liked or commented on the tweet, with one person declaring: “Martin Lewis is us all here.”
This is not the first tip ill-thought-out advice has hit the media in recent weeks.
Currie’s advice comes days after chef Jamie Oliver showed how to use minimal stove heat for less than three minutes – another tip which critics believe puts the responsibility on consumers, rather than the government, to reduce bills.
The underdog in the Tory leadership race, Rishi Sunak, proposed removing the 5% VAT charge on household energy bills back in July, a suggestion which was perceived as just a drop in the ocean in terms of how much impact it would have to people’s bank balances.
Outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson was also criticised for supposedly suggesting people buy a better quality kettle to save money last week, although it was actually an analogy for supporting expensive nuclear power.
Still, there’s no doubt that plenty of people in the media have been promoting unusual cost of living advice in recent weeks.
From tips on how to eat food which has started to go mouldy, drinking less water and “why we would all benefit from feeling the odd hunger pang”, the idea that consumers should pull back from necessities this winter has caused outrage.
Lewis himself has repeatedly slammed the government’s inaction over energy bills, and warned “lives will be lost” unless Downing Street steps in, and quickly.