The chancellor’s response is utterly inadequate and a Tory con trick.
The SNP has said the spiralling Tory cost of living crisis is “a devastating blow” to the overwhelming majority of families – as energy bills, inflation and interest rates soar.
Ian Blackford MP (pictured) said the announcements by Rishi Sunak were “utterly inadequate” and amount to a “Tory con trick” with a £200 ‘buy now, pay later’ loan being falsely spun by the Chancellor as a ‘discount’.
The SNP Westminster Leader called for the loan to be turned into a grant, and for a meaningful financial package to be introduced to protect household incomes in the face of Tory cuts and tax hikes.
Commenting, SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP said:
“The Tory cost of living crisis is spiralling out of control and will deal a devastating blow to millions of families.
“The Chancellor’s response is utterly inadequate and fails to meet the huge scale of a crisis caused by Westminster failure.
“The pitiful measures announced won’t even mitigate the soaring cost of energy bills – let alone the cumulative impact of Tory cuts, regressive tax hikes, Brexit, and rising inflation.
“The majority of families will still be hundreds or thousands of pounds worse off this year.
“Worse still, the key measure amounts to little more than a Tory con trick.
“Far from being a discount, it is a £200 ‘buy now pay later’ loan.
“After all the harm they’ve caused, it beggars’ belief the Tories are forcing families to pay this money back.
“They must perform a U-turn and turn it into a grant not a loan.
“Rishi Sunak has spent weeks in hiding, failing to lift a finger while families have suffered.
“It is essential that the Chancellor urgently goes back to the drawing board and announces a meaningful package of support including delivering a major energy grant, reversing Tory Universal Credit cuts, matching the Scottish Child Payment UK-wide, and introducing a Real Living Wage without further delay.”
