The elderly Tory voter is being forced to sell his fortune as it now costs £3,000 a year to heat a home

John Rowland says heating his property now costs £3,000 a year, even when turned down to the lowest setting. The man now has to withdraw £500 a month to pay for basic groceries and fuel bills

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John Rowland speaks to The Mirror about the cost of living crisis

Widower John Rowland, a lifelong Tory voter, lives in a remote stone cottage high up on the North Yorkshire moors in Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency.

As Mr Sunak builds a swimming pool at his home, Tory voters like Mr Rowland are struggling to make ends meet.

Heating for his 600-year-old estate has increased to £3,000 a year, even “turned down to the lowest setting”.

His pensions are around £1,300 a month. For the past three years, he’s had to ditch his savings just to make ends meet after the death of his partner.

He needs to withdraw £500 a month to cover his basic groceries and fuel bills but says: “My heart bleeds for the people who don’t have that money to fall back on.

“Single pensioners have a very difficult time and couples have to be careful too. Are we starting to sell things? That’s one of the questions – I’ve started selling assets.

“This country is in a hell of a state. I’ve always voted conservative. But I don’t particularly like Boris Johnson.

“I don’t think his morale is what it should be.

“Is there anyone better right now? My representative here is the Chancellor, Mr. Sunak, and he has also been accused of many things. Mr Starmer too.

“I think MPs live in a different world, do they really understand how the ordinary man and woman live? I don’t think they do. People are worried about that.

“Paying half a million pounds to take people to Rwanda on a seven-person plane. Just to rent a plane. It just doesn’t pay off.”

He spends around £50 a week on groceries, his phone bill is £36 a month, he has an annual council tax bill of £1,500 to pay and spends £115 a month on transport costs.

He volunteers for Age UK, which has spent hours helping him get support even as the charity has been hit by funding cuts.

But even her vital charity work is facing unprecedented demands.