Chancellor Rishi Sunak is being urged to set out an emergency budget to help millions across the UK who face being “plunged into poverty and hardship” as a result of the cost-of-living crisis. SNP MP Alison Thewliss demanded action from the UK Government, as people across the country saw both energy bills and national insurance payments rise.
Ms Thewliss, the SNP’s Treasury spokeswoman at Westminster, insisted the recent spring statement from Chancellor had been a “deliberate choice” by the Government to “ignore the Tory cost-of-living crisis brewing under its watch”. And she added that people could not wait until the budget in the autumn for help from ministers.
She called on Mr Sunak to bring forward an emergency budget, saying this should convert the recent £200 loan announced to help people with rising energy bills into a “more generous grant”. The SNP also demanded the increase in national insurance contributions should be scrapped, and said the £20 uplift to Universal Credit should be reinstated.
