BORIS Johnson has been told to “immediately” recall Parliament in order to address spiralling crises across the UK.
The SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, also called on Boris Johnson to convene cross-party talks in order to address a “perfect storm” of problems caused by his Brexit deal.
Blackford’s calls come after Labour leader Keir Starmer issued similar demands, saying Johnson “should be taking emergency action today but yet again he’s failed to grasp the seriousness of the crisis”.
The calls come as the Tory party looks to its conference, which will be held from Sunday October 3 until Wednesday October 6.
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Blackford said: “While Tory MPs gather for conference, businesses and households across the UK are being burdened beyond breaking point by Brexit. The severe labour shortages, soaring costs, empty supermarket shelves, ongoing fuel crisis, and trading barriers are all inflicting serious and lasting harm.
“The UK Government's response so far has not only been woefully inadequate, but it does nothing to address the long-term damage Brexit is going to have. This is not a bump in the road - it's the grim reality of an extreme Brexit imposed upon the UK in the middle of a pandemic.”
He added: “There can be no dodging the fact that the Tory government's extreme Brexit deal is piling on the pressure and playing a major role in the ongoing crisis facing the UK.”
In his statement, Starmer (above) said: “We’re going to see this driver shortage problem coming back again in different sectors. And I don’t want people in this country to have another Christmas ruined by this Prime Minister’s lack of planning.
“By the Government’s own admission, their [visa] scheme won’t be up and running for weeks with the first HGV drivers not on the roads until November. This simply isn’t good enough.
“Every day wasted is prolonging this crisis.”
The Labour leader added: “If it needs legislation, then let’s recall Parliament to get these emergency measures through urgently.
“The Prime Minister promised to save Christmas last year and we all know that went disastrously wrong. Now he’s making the same empty promises again.”
Downing Street has been approached for comment.
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