In the UK, unions and politicians are reacting angrily to the benefits Liz Truss will be allowed to demand after her premiership. She is entitled to 115,000 pounds (131,000 euros) a year in financial support for former prime ministers.
With many Britons struggling financially with high inflation, this scheme is now under heavy criticism.
The controversial benefit is called the Public Service Cost Allowance (PDCA) and has been around for decades. The rationale is that former prime ministers still play an important role in public life, and therefore also incur costs, such as paying employees. The state contributes to this via the PDCA.
Critics bother that Truss has only been in power for a few weeks, but she will be able to benefit from the arrangement for the rest of her life.
A spokesman for the opposition Liberal Democrats said in a British media report: “She should not be allowed lifelong access to the same £115,000 as her predecessors, who have been in power for more than two years.”
Food bank officials
In addition, there is criticism of this benefit to Truss, because many UK civil servants find it difficult to make ends meet. One in five officials will have to go to a food bank and 35 percent will have to skip meals because they don’t have food. This is what the top man in the civil servants union said in the newspaper Watchman. So the British unions want Truss to cede the benefit.
Truss announced her departure this week after coming under fire for her faltering economic policies.
Zombie specialist. Friendly twitter guru. Internet buff. Organizer. Coffee trailblazer. Lifelong problem solver. Certified travel enthusiast. Alcohol geek.