Millions of Scots are heading towards a financial abyss in October when the energy price cap is lifted.
Average household bills are set to rise by 80% - from £1,971 a year to £3,549. The effect on poverty levels will be catastrophic, with people on low incomes bearing the brunt of soaring costs.
Small businesses will also have to pay exorbitant bills and the prospect of mass job losses is real. A new poll shows that one million Scots plan to cope by simply turning their heating off altogether.
Nearly one quarter of those surveyed expect never to turn their heating on, with the figure higher for parents with children under 18. You would expect such a looming calamity to be taken seriously by the two contenders for the Tory leadership.
You would expect Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to have unveiled detailed plans for how to help people pay rising bills.
The reality is we have endured a contest where both contenders have offered nothing that meets the scale of the challenge. They have tip-toed around the crisis when what is required is a bold plan to allay the growing anxieties of voters.
The easiest solution is for prices to be capped and for the October rise not to go ahead.
This would effectively amount to an energy furlough scheme that protects everyone from rising bills. With prices rising and pay increases not following suit, the last thing people can afford is a 80 per cent hike in energy bills.
Cancelling the increase must be the top priority for whoever succeeds Boris Johnson in Downing Street.
We fear that Liz Truss - the favourite to be our next PM - will fail to rise to the challenge.
A waste of time
The filthy state of our streets as a result of the bin strike has been rightly condemned.
Overflowing bins have been caused by the failure of councils chiefs and trade unions to reach a deal on fair pay for cleansing staff.
So it is encouraging to learn that a new offer is to be tabled by COSLA for the consideration of the unions.
It would amount to 5 per cent, with a minimum of £1925 for everyone.
But it is worth asking why this dispute has dragged on for so long?
Unions were clear they wanted a flat rate offer as it would benefit the low paid more.
If this perfectly sensible demand had been met a month ago we could avoided our Capital city being turning into an open rubbish dump.
Our hard-working bin men and women will have a tough time clearing up the mess on our streets when this dispute ends.
But the Scottish Government and councils have messed up big time by letting this dispute fester.
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