Sunak must use Budget to tackle Tory cost of living crisis

The Chancellor has a responsibility to undo the damage caused by his party’s cuts, writes Ian Blackford

Millions of families across Scotland will be feeling the squeeze over the coming months as the UK grapples with a growing Tory cost of living crisis.

That’s why the SNP is calling for Rishi Sunak to make boosting incomes and tackling poverty the number one priority at the UK Budget tomorrow.

Under Boris Johnson, the UK suffers from the worst levels of poverty and inequality of any country in north-west Europe – and in-work poverty has risen to its highest levels this century.

This hasn’t happened by chance. It is a direct consequence of the damaging political choices made by the Tory government over the past decade – many of which were taken in the full knowledge that they would push people into hardship and leave the UK economy worse off.

Boris Johnson’s disastrous hard Brexit has already cost Scotland billions of pounds – and it is projected to cost every person in our country the equivalent of £1,600 a year by 2030, compared to the economic benefits of remaining in the European Union.

Scotland didn’t vote to leave the EU but we are being made to pay a very high price for the Tory government’s political choice to impose the hardest of Brexits, which ripped Scotland out of the world’s largest single market and increased costs, red tape and barriers to trade.

The impact of that decision is now being felt acutely by businesses and families across Scotland. UK exports have plunged, industries are facing severe staffing shortages, food is rotting in the fields, petrol stations are running dry and supermarket shelves are empty. As a result, businesses are losing millions of pounds and the price of goods and services is rising. While the EU is looking after its member states, with financial help to mitigate the rising cost of Brexit, the UK government hasn’t lifted a finger. It tells you everything you need to know that while Ireland is getting €1.05 billion from the EU’S Brexit mitigation fund, Scotland has yet to receive a single penny in compensation from Westminster.

The SNP is calling for the Chancellor to follow the EU’S lead and introduce a multi-billion-pound Brexit Recovery Fund at the Budget – to provide Scotland with compensation and to ensure proper financial support for struggling businesses and industries.

The soaring cost of Brexit has compounded the pressure that families were already under after a decade of Tory austerity cuts, regressive tax hikes and stagnant wages.

In the past year alone, Universal Credit cuts have reduced the incomes of 5.5 million people by £1,040 a year. The Tory public sector pay freeze has reduced the wages of frontline workers by hundreds of pounds. Scrapping the triple lock will see Scottish pensioners lose out on £486 next year, and regressive VAT and National Insurance hikes will force the majority of families to pay hundreds of pounds more in taxes next year.

By making these choices, the Tory government is stamping out any chance of a fair recovery in the wake of Covid. The pandemic exposed the weaknesses in the UK’S threadbare social security safety net but instead of addressing the problem, Westminster is making it even worse.

That’s why the SNP is calling for an emergency package to boost household incomes and reverse the damage caused by a decade of cuts. The Chancellor must finally introduce a Real Living Wage, increase