The Government’s introduction of a National Insurance hike at a time when families are already struggling to make ends meet is genuinely frightening.
We are facing an extraordinary rise in the cost of food and fuel, which is affecting just about everybody – not just people who are on low incomes.
To see this steep surge in prices has been devastating... and it’s only going to get worse.
We have said time and time again that it is absolutely not the right time to be increasing National Insurance.
And it goes directly against promises the Tories made to voters.
They are trying to link the energy crisis to the war in Ukraine.
But they knew the supply of oil and gas was a problem before.
They have tried to blame the National Insurance hike on Covid. But 12 years of Tory austerity has made things even worse for the health and social care sector and put huge pressure on hospitals and the NHS.
The Tories have created this crisis and to break their promises when they knew this was coming just shows we cannot trust a word they say.
They are so out of touch, they don’t even realise that this is the biggest cost-of-living crisis in generations. All the while, we learn that Rishi Sunak’s wife uses a loophole scheme to avoid UK tax.
I have had so many people contacting me who are absolutely petrified that they are not going to be able to afford to live over the next few months.
I grew up in poverty and saw the devastating effects this can have first-hand. The shocking thing now compared to when I was growing up, however, is that these are often people in decent jobs who are being forced to go to food banks in order to support themselves.
So many of these people suffering, such as nurses and care workers, were told they were lockdown heroes 12 months ago. Now they feel like they’re being punished and are completely demoralised.
What’s particularly frustrating for me is that the North and the Midlands were promised so-called “levelling up”. But these are the places that are going to be the hardest hit by the crisis.
People in constituencies like mine in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester were promised their bills would go down if we left the European Union – but the opposite has happened.
Labour would impose a windfall tax on gas and energy companies. We have done this in the past and we can do it again. There is no reason why we cannot pass this money on to the people who need it the most to ease the cost of living squeeze.
This would reduce the average household energy bill by up to £600, and we would target support to low earners, pensioners and squeezed families.
We also need to ensure a more secure workforce, with a decent living wage and proper employment rights.
The P&O scandal has shown us that anyone is vulnerable if we let this stand – and this Government cannot be trusted to step in and stand up for workers.
We would also invest in renewable energy, like wind farms, to make us more self-reliant and more secure as a country.
It would also bring in skilled workers to areas such as the North and Scotland, where people can get decent jobs to last them a lifetime.
The Government’s response has been woeful and last week’s tax hike is only going to plunge more people into more devastation and debt.
