The Government’s plans set out in yesterday’s Queen’s Speech have been criticised for not doing enough to help households through the current cost-of-living crisis.
During the official opening of Parliament, the Government failed to announce any new, immediate financial support packages for households – despite the inflation rate continuing to rise and the tax burden being at its highest since WW2.
The Progressive Alliance is calling on the Government to take proper action, as an independent report revealed today that an estimated 1.5 million households in the UK will struggle to pay their food and energy bills over the next year.
Councillor Rob Middleton, Labour Progressive Alliance Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “The Government’s plans fall desperately short on what people actually need right now. Residents are facing skyrocketing energy bills, the highest inflation rate in 30-years, a National Insurance tax hike, and the weekly shop going up by hundreds of pounds every year. The Government had a clear opportunity to provide immediate financial help to people who need it, but they failed.”
This comes as residents are already being hit by the Conservative Government’s National Insurance rise, a move that could see the average local worker pay an additional £250 – all while extreme poverty could increase by a third.
As a result, Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors are calling for proper action from the Government, including a windfall tax on the massive profits of oil and gas companies.
Councillor Jane Carr, Liberal Democrat Cabinet Member for Tackling Inequality and Child Poverty, added: “The Progressive Alliance is doing all it can to help Milton Keynes through the cost-of-living crisis. We’re running a second Summer of Play, helping to open more community food larders, and providing over £16 million in direct cost-of-living support, but we cannot do it all.
“This is a national cost-of-living crisis, and we need national solutions. Unfortunately, the Government is not delivering and people are suffering.”