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Wotcha Max, hope you are well and happy.

That toe rag, Ian Duncan Smith reckons he can live on ?53 a week.

Could you do me a favour and drop him a copy of that bestseller Max Tranmere "How to Live on Bugger all".

I seem to recall the Max Tranmere austerity diet involved a lot of tuna and pasta.

Anyway, with 200,000 signatories to the petition for getting IDS to pull his finger out and show us how he can move from getting ?2,587.79 a week to ?53, he could probably do with a copy.

No point in posting this as I imagine his going to be to busy to reply writing his recipe book and meeting with all those TV execs for the accompanying program.

Hi David,

How ya doin' geezer. I think with the momentum building for IDS to practice what he preaches, and live on ?53 a week, it seems like it is going to happen. The media will keep going on about it, and with the petition too, until he does. Once he does it this will be one of those things that sticks with him forever, a bit like Michael Foot and his donkey jacket at the Cenotaph, Edwina Currie with her 'all eggs are contaminated with salmonella', and Michael Heseltine waving the Mace in Parliament, this issue will even be put in IDS's obituary many years from now.

Regarding him actually doing it: I assume he'll claim that as two people live in his house then it's reasonable for the couple, him and Betsy (remember "Betsy-gate" when IDS was Tory leader), he'll say it's reasonable for the two of them to live on ?106 a week and that will be the same. Some will have to go on heating their pad in Chingford, a bit for electricity, and the rest can be spent as follows:

2kg of pasta from Tesco's for ?3.00. That's about 8 meals worth:


2 jars of pasta sauce for ?4.00 to go with it:


1kg (2 packs) of cheese for ?6.00 to grate over it:


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Other evening meals:

1500g of mince for ?10.00, that's 12 meals worth. So far we have 20 evening meals for IDS and his missus.
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3 bottles of cheap plonk for a fraction over ?10.00 the lot:


Here are veggies to go with the pasta meals and the mince: cucumbers (4 for ?2.00), tomato's (6 packs for ?2.00), onions (10 for just under ?2.00), peppers (?8.00 for 4 mixed bags):





So far we've have 20 evening meals for the two of them, that's 10 nights worth of eats, more than the 14 evening meals required.

Now breakfast. They could tuck in to some Kelloggs cornflakes to set them up for the day. Less than ?3.00 for a large box.


We need about 4 loaves of bread for the week for the two of them, for brekkie and lunch. 4 loaves for ?4.40 (call it a fiver):


2 tubs of margarine for ?2.00:


Marmite (hey, some people like it) ?2.69 for a jar (call it ?3.00):


12 pints (2 flagon's) of semi-skimmed milk for just under ?4.00:


Now for the soft drinks: 4 litres of Diet Coke for ?2.00, and 4 litres of lemonade for ?2.00:



12 apples, just under ?4.00. 8 oranges for ?2.50:



Iain and Betsy can have cheese and tomato/cucumber sarnies for lunch. They have enough cheese and bread.

40 tea bags for ?1.35:



I think that covers it all.

About 76 quid. That leaves them ?30.00 for electricity and heating for 7 days. They could spend a lot of time in the lounge, kitchen and bedroom and leave the lights and heating off in the other rooms of their mansion for the week.

I'd say him living on ?53.00 (?106.00 for them both) is achievable!

Good on ya Max. When you want detail, Mr. Tranmere delivers.

"I'd say him living on ?53.00 (?106.00 for them both) is achievable!"

Oh no, best not to email him then. Otherwise, the bugger will be back to reduce benefits further.

Cheers
D

I like your shopping list, actually quite healthy food but like George Orwell in 'Down and Out in Paris and London' I must point out that the cost of the energy required to cook this food is not factored in. I am quite surprised that IDS, astute political thinker and ale drinker did not think of this. Maybe this really is a re-run of the 1930s we are living in.

Glad you both like the list. They can have it all delivered so they won't have the hassle of even going to buy it, I've not checked on the Tesco's website but I would imagine if you spend above a certain amount the delivery is free - otherwise Iain and Betsy can trundle off to their nearest Tesco's, buy it all, and carry it back in large shopping bags.

They will need bathroom items too but mega-packs of bog rolls, and bars of soap, are cheap too. They could take a bit from the ?30.00 they've got left over for that. There will be enough to heat the three rooms in the house they are going to be using with what is left over.

I imagine there are some people who live on less than ?53.00 a week - many students for example - and they manage. So Iain and Betsy could tighten their belts a fraction more if they had to. I wouldn't be surprised if IDS's office has been getting a lot of emails this week listing how they could make do on this amount of money. They should give it a go.

I always remember when IDS was the leader of the Tory party, he won because they briefly changed the way Tory leaders could be elected. I recall Michael Portillo on that 'This Week' programme on BBC1 around that time and he was asked whether he thought a lot of Tory party grandee's liked the fact Iain Duncan Smith was the leader. Portillo didn't respond but was pushed several times by Andrew Neil. Portillo then said: "well I'll tell you this, John Major is certainly NOT happy with him being the party leader".

IDS was a big thorn in the side of Major in the early to mid 1990's over the 'Europe' issue. He made John Major's management of the party much more difficult. I personally think IDS is a bit of a joke, remember when he said as Tory leader "never underestimate the determination of a quiet man" - referring to himself and meaning that even though he is not very vocal (except on Europe of course a few years earlier) and that he comes over as meek and timid he still has a lot of authority and clout as party leader. Sadly this didn't amount to much as he was out quite soon after.