THE vast majority of Scots believe Boris Johnson is handling the UK’s economy badly – and few think his Chancellor is doing any better.
The Prime Minister used his Conservative Party conference speech this week to say he has the “guts” to reshape society, addressing issues which had been dodged by previous administrations.
With shortages of lorry drivers and other workers hitting supply chains, leading to empty shelves and queues at petrol stations, Johnson defended his strategy of restricting the supply of cheap foreign labour after Brexit.
And despite a looming National Insurance rise for millions of workers in April to fund a £12 billion annual investment in health and social care in England, Johnson insisted his new approach would ultimately create a “low-tax economy”.
But it seems Scots were not convinced by his promises. Eight in 10 Scots (79%) responding to a new YouGov poll say the Prime Minister is handling finances badly – while 72% felt the same way about Rishi Sunak.
The poll also shows Scots aren’t feeling optimistic about the current state of the UK’s economy, with three-quarters (73%) of respondents saying it’s in a bad state. Just 9% feel positively about it at the moment.
READ MORE: FACT CHECK: Boris Johnson's claim that wages are rising
More than half (52%) also felt their household’s financial situation will worsen over the next year, while just 14% expect it to improve.
About three-quarters of Scots also think the UK Government is handling the economy, taxation and inflation badly.
Kirsten Oswald, the SNP’s Westminster deputy leader, said the findings prove “independence is the only route to properly protect Scotland’s interests and to secure a fair and strong recovery from the pandemic”.
She went on: "Rather than bringing forward a meaningful package of support to secure an investment-led recovery from the pandemic, the Tory government has instead pursued harmful policies that will push households into poverty and hardship.
"Imposing regressive tax hikes, recklessly cutting Universal Credit support, and prematurely ending Covid income support schemes will burden households to breaking point.
"Westminster is not acting in Scotland's interests. It's clear that only with independence will we be able to escape the long-term damage of Tory austerity and Brexit and secure a strong and equal recovery from the Covid crisis."
The poll was carried out among 1670 adults in Britain from October 4-5.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel