Budget 2014: Tories mocked over beer and bingo tweet

A Tory advert tweeted by MP Grant Shapps claiming that cutting the bingo tax and beer duty in the 2014 Budget is “help” for hardworking families has prompted ridicule online.

Shapps tweeted the graphic shortly after Chancellor George Osborne presented the 2014 budget, believing that the Tory’s were supporting “the things they enjoy”, but it played into the Labour narrative that the Eton-schooled “toff” Conservatives had a “them vs us” attitude.

The tweet overshadowed many of the revelations of the budget, that demonstrated that the UK economy is finally emerging from the double-dip recession, and put Osborne on the back foot. It also gave Labour leader Ed Miliband and shadow chancellor Ed Balls a pass for what many believe was a poor response to the figures.

The tweet prompted a trending #TroyBingo hashtag on Twitter as well as a site devoted to remaking and mocking the Tory policy at ToryBingo.com.