Households and businesses are being forced to “pay a heavy price” for the UK government’s economic incompetence, warns West Dunbartonshire’s MP Martin Docherty-Hughes.
The criticism follows the UK Chancellor’s Autumn Budget Statement, which unveiled £55bn of tax rises and spending cuts in the face of an economic recession.
It’s expected real household disposable income per person will plunge by more than 7 per cent over the next two years – the biggest fall on record and taking incomes down to levels nearly a decade ago.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted the UK will suffer the sharpest decline of any European nation with a drop in growth by 1.4% in 2023. This compares to small independent countries similar to Scotland, like Ireland who will see their economies grow by around 3% next year.
The SNP has said only independence can keep Scotland safe from Westminster cuts and Brexit decline – after the UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled a new wave of austerity measures.
Commenting, Martin Docherty-Hughes MP said:
“In West Dunbartonshire and across Scotland people are being hit hard by the Tory cost-of-living crisis.
“The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was a chance to rectify the economic mess created by this UK government. Instead, they’re making ordinary families pay the price of Westminster’s ineptitude by imposing another damaging wave of austerity.
“Hard-pressed households already struggling with soaring bills and rising prices now face the biggest fall in living standards on record.
“The Chancellor’s choice to impose further austerity is a mistake which will adversely impact households, businesses and public services across Scotland.
“It’s clear we need independence, so Scotland can make its own choices and escape the failures of Westminster once and for all.”
