UK Prime Minster candidate Liz Truss has come up with a new idea to help pensioners cope with the cost of living crisis: a tax break for turning off the heating.

The details of the scheme are hazy but are said to involve every pensioner who takes part paying £146.50 for a smart meter to be installed in their home that can detect when the heating has been switched off, thus making them eligible for the new tax break.

Market analyst Sergei, the Meerkat from comparethemarket.com, told FNN:

My analysis shows that the actual value of the tax break, assuming a pensioner turns off their heating for the whole of next winter, will be £146, meaning that the real payback will be just 50p. And even this will be consumed by the cost of buying a new string vest from Asda to help keep warm.

However, since lots of pensioners will succumb to the cold over the winter, the benefits to the Treasury could be substantial as they will no longer need to payout the state pension or cover the cost of a free TV license.

Phew. I need a Nero!

Truss is having difficulty competing with Rishi Sunak's proposal for a new tax on takeaway curry, that could raise over £2 billion for the Treasury, even if the tax only includes Tikkas and not Kormas. Truss would like to have proposed this idea herself but knew she would be accused of racism. Whereas Dishy-Rishi can get away with it as he used to run the Tuck-Shop at Winchester College, known for its Cathedral Onion Bhajis, the snack favored by the Bonzo-Dog-Doo-Dah band.