THE SNP have called upon the Chancellor to introduce a multi-billion pound Brexit recovery package in his Budget this week to help households and businesses in Scotland cope with rising costs related to leaving the European Union.
They are also urging Rishi Sunak to create an emergency fund for families struggling on low incomes in a bid to reverse rising levels of poverty.
Ian Blackford, the party’s leader in Westminster, made the intervention ahead of the Budget on Wednesday and amid weeks of turmoil which has seen companies in the haulage, hospitality and care sectors suffer acute staff shortages.
The crisis has also led to increasing shop prices, according to the data from the British Retail Consortium with figures from the BRC and research group NielsenIQ revealing a 0.4% month-on-month rise in August. The rise was driven by a 0.6% rise in non-food prices, including a sharp increase in the cost of electrical goods.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson used his address to the Conservative party conference earlier this month to tell businesses to pay workers more in a bid to address staff shortages.
As well as rising prices, millions of families across the UK have been hit by the £20 per week cut to Universal Credit, plus rising energy bills and face an increase in National Insurance contributions from next April.
Appealing to Sunak, Blackford said the Chancellor must use the Budget to “get a grip” of the cost of living crisis hitting the UK.
“The UK is in a state of constant crisis under Westminster control – with Tory cuts and the soaring cost of Brexit leaving families, businesses and the economy poorer and worse off,” said Blackford.
“The Chancellor must use this Budget to get a grip of the spiralling Tory cost of living crisis and mitigate the damage that Tory cuts, regressive tax hikes and Brexit have caused.”
He added: “Under the Tories, the UK suffers from the worst levels of poverty and inequality in north-west Europe and in-work poverty is at the highest levels this century.
“Rishi Sunak’s decision to slash Universal Credit, impose a public sector pay freeze, raise national insurance, and scrap the triple lock on pensions will push even more families into hardship.
“It is essential that the UK Government introduces an emergency package to boost household incomes and reverse rising poverty. Introducing a real Living Wage, ending the pay freeze, reversing Universal Credit cuts, and delivering an energy payment for low income households.
“With Brexit hammering the economy, the Chancellor must follow the EU’s lead and introduce a Brexit Recovery Fund to mitigate the damage caused, which has already cost Scotland billions of pounds.”
Blackford said the EU has given Ireland €1.05 billion to address the impact of Brexit, while the UK Government has given Scotland no compensation. “For all their empty rhetoric, the Tories are stamping out any chance of a fair recovery with damaging political choices,” he said.
“Ultimately the only way to keep Scotland safe from Tory cuts and the long-term damage of Brexit is to become an independent country, with the full powers needed for a strong, fair and green recovery.”
Blackford’s intervention comes as polls show people in Scotland have an increasingly negative view of the UK Government’s management of the economy. YouGov polling this month revealed 72% of Scots think Sunak is doing a bad job at managing the economy and 79% think Johnson is doing a bad job.
The UK Government was contacted for comment.
Last night Rishi Sunak pledged a “£3bn skills revolution” to build on the UK Government’s plan for jobs and to “spread opportunity across the UK”, with a number of cash boost for education and apprenticeships expected in England.
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