Biggest real term fall in wages since 2014.
The Tory-made cost of living crisis is “spiralling out of control” as new figures reveal wages have fallen in real terms at its sharpest rate in more than seven years.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by only 3.8% in the three months to January despite inflation projected to rise beyond 8% in the autumn.
This has resulted in wages falling by 1% in real terms – the steepest decline since July 2014.
The SNP’s Shadow Chancellor, Alison Thewliss MP, has urged Rishi Sunak to deliver an “emergency package of support for households and businesses” in next week’s Spring statement – or face condemning millions of people to a “lifetime of poverty”.
Commenting, the SNP’s Shadow Chancellor Alison Thewliss MP said:
“The Tory-made cost of living crisis is spiralling out of control, and only the UK government have the powers to fix it.
“These latest statistics from the ONS highlight in no uncertain terms that wages are failing to keep up with the rate of inflation – thus leaving millions of families thousands of pounds worse off each year.
“There can be no more delays.
“Rishi Sunak must use next week’s Spring statement to deliver an emergency package of support for households and businesses, including turning the £200 energy loan into a grant, reversing the cruel cut to Universal Credit, delivering a Real Living Wage, and matching the Scottish Government’s game-changing Scottish Child Payment UK-wide.
“If the Chancellor ignores these calls, and continues to bury his head in the sand, then he will be condemning millions of people to a lifetime of poverty – just like the previous Westminster governments before him.
“However, there can be no doubt that for as long as Scotland remains under Westminster control, we will never be able to fully recover.
“The only way to keep Scotland safe from more callous Tory cuts is to become an independent nation, with the full powers needed to build a strong, prosperous, and greener society.”
