THE blithe attitude of Esther McVey is exposed when she wrote that residents "will of course have the choice of making up the shortfall themselves or move".

This statement says so much about the out-of-touch Government of which she is now a minister.

Most people living in social housing could no more "make up the shortfall" than fly to the moon – and if McVey and the posh Tories she represents don’t know this, then they’re in urgent need of a lesson in reality.

The more likely explanation though is that they actually do know it, but they couldn’t care less.

Paula Roberts by email.