Vulnerable at breaking point as prices soar
April 1 usually means pranks and laughter, but for households across Scotland it’s been no joke. Rather, it was a day of price hikes and bill increases.
Average energy prices have increased 54 per cent across these islands, and some predict more pain on the way in the autumn. This comes as inflation continues to run rampant, driving up the price of food, fuel and goods.
For some of our most vulnerable groups in society, they’ve reached an absolute breaking point. There’s no more belt left to tighten, no further budget slack to cut. Some are beyond choosing between heating and eating, but rejecting foods from food banks which they cannot afford to prepare. It’s horrific, it’s shameful and it’s happening under the UK Conservative Government who control energy policies, employment laws and social budgets. They could help but have chosen not to, while the Scottish Government is doing what it can with limited powers and budgets.
Governments of all persuasions and parties face immense external forces at the moment, disrupting economies and livelihoods. People are crying out for help, for relief. And yet UK Chancellor
Rishi Sunak has failed to meet the moment, failed to help struggling households and failed to arrest the economic calamity now brought upon so many in Stirling, Scotland and across the UK.
The SNP and I have urged the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to use the powers at their disposal: match the Scottish Government and uprate social security payments by at least six per cent reverse cuts to Universal Credit; roll out the £20 per week Scottish Child Payment Uk-wide; introduce a Real Living Wage; turn the ‘heat now, pay later’ loan into a grant - and reverse increases to National Insurance Contributions.
Voters will have their say in the upcoming local council elections on Thursday, May 5.
Stirling SNP are fielding 14 fantastic candidates, two in every ward and enough to win control of Stirling Council outright. We’re serious about winning and improving the lives of everyone who calls Stirling home. In the continuing cost of living crisis, local government has an important role to play to help keep people safe and looked after.
People across Stirling also face the closure of vital services, such as bank branches and post offices. The recent Bank of Scotland closure in Dunblane has left loyal customers rightly fuming. Throughout the pandemic, the public have shown loyalty and support to a whole range of businesses - and BOS customers have been some of the fiercest supporters of their bank. This branch closure is a poor way of repaying that loyalty, and as MP I’ve condemned the decision.