It’s not much of a surprise that multi-millionaire Rishi Sunak has nothing to say about the cost of living. The latest unelected Conservative to become Prime Minister spoke outside Downing Street and failed to mention inflation once.
The price of bread is unlikely to trouble a former hedge fund manager like Sunak. His first speech as PM came on the day that official figures revealed how much the cost of everyday essentials has risen over the past year.
Pasta, bread, tea, chips and cooking oil have all soared in price by between 30 and 65 per cent. Workers are left buying such items with pay packets that are being cut in real terms thanks to below-inflation wage rises.
Meanwhile, Sunak claimed he would put economic stability at the heart of his government. It’s hard to take such a statement seriously after the events of recent weeks.
Sunak might have differed from Liz Truss when it came to tax cuts but he remains every inch the right-wing fiscal Tory. Voters – denied a say on who runs the country – must now brace themselves for Austerity Mk II.
Make no mistake, public spending cuts will be firmly on Sunak’s agenda. We just have to look at the Tory stooges that make up his new Cabinet.
Jeremy Hunt, as Chancellor, and Suella Braverman, as Home Secretary, tell you everything you need to know about this government. Sunak will govern for the rich and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces.
Cancer toll is a national scandal
If you are poor in Scotland you have a 74 per cent greater chance of dying from cancer than those better off. A report we highlight today, covering the period from 2012 to 2021, sheds light on just how much people living in deprived areas are being failed.
Like the drugs death scandal, it seems the Scottish Government has taken its eyes completely off the ball. Ministers say they are developing a new 10-year cancer strategy which is set to launch in spring 2023.
Proposals on how to increase the survival rate of cancer sufferers from poorer backgrounds must be at its core. The huge inequality in deaths from this terrible disease should shame the Scottish Government.
Urgent action is needed to stop patients dying unnecessarily.
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