The SNP has accused the UK Labour government of ignoring a worsening cost of living crisis, as official figures revealed inflation rising sharply in Britain while falling across much of Europe.
New data from the Office for National Statistics confirmed UK inflation hit 3.8% in July, its highest since January 2024 and almost double the rate recorded at the time of last year’s general election.
It comes as fresh forecasts from Cornwall Insight suggest energy bills will climb again this autumn, leaving households paying on average £169 more than when Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves came to power.
The figures contrast with Labour’s promise to cut bills by £300.
Research from the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the SNP, shows Britain as an outlier compared with EU neighbours.
Inflation has eased in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands over the past year, while across the bloc the average rate has fallen to 2.4%.
By contrast, UK inflation has climbed from 2% in June 2024 to 3.8% this summer.
ECB interest rates also stand at just 2%, half those set by the Bank of England.
SNP economy spokesperson Dave Doogan MP said the figures underline the reality for households across Scotland.
“Rachel Reeves has spent the summer flying kites and leaking stories ahead of a brutal budget she is preparing this autumn, but all the while she is blindly ignoring the worsening cost of living crisis,” he said.
“This week alone gave official confirmation of what people already know and feel in their day to day lives, from food, to fuel, to energy, prices are going up under the Labour Party.”
Mr Doogan argued that Labour, like the Conservatives before them, cannot blame global pressures alone, pointing to falling prices across the EU.
“Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves promised ‘change’ a year ago, but it is clearer than ever that things are getting worse on the Labour Party’s watch.
“Scots now know that the cost of living crisis will never end under Westminster’s perpetual maladministration of our economic future.”
He added that the figures strengthen the case for independence:
“Scotland is rich in resources, but we need the full powers of independence to deliver transformative change for those struggling to make ends meet, we need the powers of independence to build a future beyond broken Britain.”
