The SNP has accused Boris Johnson of being utterly out of touch with ordinary families, referencing previous reports that he complained about struggling to get by on his £157,000 salary.
It comes after sources in the UK government called on the Prime Minister to ‘get a grip’ over rising costs to energy just as record levels of inflation, Tory cuts, and tax hikes are set to hammer millions of families across the UK, with the SNP criticising the Prime Minister over his failures to heed the warnings over the cost of living crisis, which is set to leave families £1,200 worse off a year from April.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), two thirds of people have already said that their cost of living has increased in the last month, and polling released by YouGov this morning reveals that 33% of Britons are worried about their energy bills rising by more than they can afford.
The SNP’s Shadow Treasury Spokesperson, Alison Thewliss MP, reiterated the party’s call for an emergency package of support including a low-income energy payment, matching the Scottish Child Payment across the UK, reversing the £20 a week cut to Universal Credit, and raising the minimum wage and statutory sick pay to the real living wage of £9.90 an hour.
Commenting, Alison Thewliss said:
“Ordinary families are bearing the brunt of a cost-of living crisis which Boris Johnson’s government is doing nothing about.
“But of course, this is a Prime Minister who has claimed he can’t get by on his £157,000 salary, living in a flat redecorated with Tory donor cash – so it’s no wonder he is so out of touch.
“For months now he has been asleep at the wheel while warnings have rung out from all directions of the danger many are in – with new polling revealing that a significant number of people are worried about their energy bills rising by more than they can afford.
“The Prime Minister is sleepwalking into catastrophe.
“It shouldn’t take senior Tories briefing against him to wake him up to the brutal reality that many across the country will have to suffer if he continues doing nothing.
“With the UK having the worst levels of poverty and inequality in north west Europe it’s clear that action must be taken now or else the Tories will push millions more into hardship.
“The UK government must introduce an emergency package of support – introducing a low-income energy payment, matching the Scottish Child Payment across the UK, reversing the £20 a week cuts to Universal Credit, and raising the minimum wage and statutory sick pay to the Real Living Wage of £9.90 an hour.”
