Corporate fat cats sitting in the boardrooms of multinational energy companies have never had it so good.
The likes of BP and Shell have earned record profits as a result of the soaring cost of oil and gas. The two firms will this week announce quarterly results which are expected to confirm the money continues to roll in at head-spinning speed.
The UK Government has imposed a modest windfall tax on the energy giants but it doesn’t go far enough. It barely scratches the kind of cash these conglomerates are earning.
It’s sickening when so many ordinary Scots cannot afford to heat their homes properly due to sky-high energy bills. A new report has confirmed how the cost-of-living crisis has also become a health crisis.
Research by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation found a quarter of adult Scots have sought NHS treatment as a result of the cost of living impacting their physical or mental health. At a time when the health service is already struggling, more people are falling ill due to the stress of not being able to make ends meet.
The UK has been described as a poor society that contains some very rich people. The top-earning households enjoy a staggering level of affluence while the poor just keep getting poorer.
A fair tax system that ensured the energy giants pay their proper share would go a long way to lessening this inequality. The alternative is our NHS continues to struggle and more people fall ill.
Pay victims now
The infected blood scandal has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS. It is thought tens of thousands were infected with HIV and hepatitis between 1970 and 1991 after being given a contaminated drug or blood transfusion.
People of all ages from across the UK contracted a variety of diseases as a result. Almost 400 children contracted HIV because they were given infected blood.
A public inquiry recommended last year that victims be given financial compensation as a priority. But many children, siblings and parents of those who had died have missed out.
Bruce Norval is one of many Scots still waiting for his pay-out. He was infected when he was just three years old and has suffered repeated bouts of chronic ill health as a result.
The UK Government must not drag its feet and should issue compensation as a priority. Victims have waited long enough.
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