TORIES TO BLAME FOR SOARING FOOD PRICE INFLATION
Rising costs and inflationary pressures are pricing ordinary people out of essential food items the SNP has said as grocery inflation reached a record 17.1%.
The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel reported that the increase over the past year meant that families faced a potential £811 annual rise in the cost of their regular shopping basket.
It comes as significant food shortages – exacerbated by Brexit – leave supermarket shelves across the UK empty, prompting many stores to implement rationing on fresh items like salad products and tomatoes.
The report follows the release of a report on Monday revealing 27% of people often or sometimes could not afford to eat a balanced diet, with 13% having cut down meal size or skipped meals amidst the cost of living crisis.
The SNP’s Economy spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP urged the Chancellor to use the upcoming budget to address household’s financial woes, warning the Tories would preside over a nation reliant on food banks to get by without significant action.
Commenting, the SNP’s Economy spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP said:
“Ordinary people are being priced out of basic food items as Brexit, the Tory-made cost of living crisis and Westminster’s failure to get a grip of inflation bite.
“Rising pressures have heaped hundreds of pounds onto annual household shopping bills – and that’s just on the products people can still buy, let’s not forget that Tory failures have consistently led to food shortages and empty shelves across the UK.
“The Chancellor must do what he can to reverse this and ensure families are in a better financial position than they were a year ago when the cost of living started to spiral out of control.
“Without significant action the UK government will let millions more households slip into poverty and destitution, a spiral that would one day see them preside over an entire nation reliant on food banks and charity to get by.
“The record of the Tories is a shocking one, and sadly we see no signs of promise that things will get better. Scottish households should not be made to pay such a high price for the failures of a Westminster government it didn’t elect.
“We need the full powers of independence, giving us control over all financial levers so we can set Scotland on a better path towards just economic prosperity that works for everyone.”
