Tory minister takes heat after praising £170 champagne… calling the bubbly an ‘alternative’ vaccine to forget ‘rotten’ 2020

UK Housing Minister Christopher Pincher wrote a magazine review lauding Krug champagne… but critics have denounced him as being “out of touch with reality” and say he should focus on his day job instead.

Pincher had written the review of the pricey bubbly in British monthly magazine The Critic, where he runs a column commenting on wines and restaurants. The official suggested that the drink is the best way to usher out “the most risible and rotten year.”

He went on to suggest that, even though it’s a little cheaper than Dom Perignon, Krug is “ideal for lifting the spirit” and “will brighten your family bubble and provide an alternative vaccine until the real thing provides more permanent inoculation against the memory of last year.”

Some Twitter users said the advice left them speechless and said that they have to live on the price of three bottles of “Arrogant Champagne” per month.

The sentiment on social media was supported by the Shadow Housing and Planning Minister Mike Amesbury, who was quoted as describing Pincher as “truly out of touch and breathtakingly arrogant.” In his comments to the Mirror he said that the minister “should be fixing the massive problems facing leaseholders and those in desperate need of good quality, affordable and truly sustainable housing.”

On top of that, some were quick to point out that the minister “should be sorting out the cladding scandal” instead of being too busy reviewing champagne.

A recent report suggested that homeowners in the UK are forced to spend millions on 24-hour fire patrols as their apartment blocks have potentially dangerous cladding and are deemed unsafe.

The monthly fees for fire wardens are believed to be too much for many residents. The measure itself is aimed at preventing a repeat of the Grenfell Tower fire that killed dozens of people in 2017.

The minister’s comments come as the UK has started the biggest mass vaccination campaign in its history, expecting to vaccinate around 30 million people who fall into the nine high-priority groups.

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