77% OF PEOPLE NOT CONFIDENT WESTMINSTER BUDGET PROVIDES ENOUGH HELP TO TACKLE RISING COSTS
SNP MSP for Stirling, Evelyn Tweed has said “families are seeing their incomes hammered under Westminster control” – as analysis shows the UK is set for the biggest fall in living standards on record.
Following last week’s spring budget, a YouGov poll has found that 77% of people do not have confidence that the Westminster budget will provide enough help to tackle the cost of living.
Analysis following the Tory budget shows:
- The UK is expected to suffer the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 1950s – with real household disposable income (RHDI) expected to fall by 5.7 per cent over 2022-23 and 2023-24 (Source: OBR)
- Most people are expected to be worse off in 2027 than they were in 2019 – with real incomes still expected to be lower in 2027-28 than 2019-20, and the typical household expected to be worse-off by £694/year by 2027-28 as a result of Tory government policies (Resolution Foundation)
- Households will pay an extra £67 a month for energy bills – after the Chancellor scrapped the Energy Bill Support Scheme with immediate effect.
- Brexit is forecast to deal a 4% hit to UK GDP – with UK imports and exports expected to be 15 per cent lower than if the UK had remained in the EU (Source: OBR)
- The UK is set to suffer slower growth this year than any other major economy, including sanction-hit Russia (Source: OBR)
Commenting, SNP MSP for Stirling, Evelyn Tweed said:
“Scotland is a wealthy, energy-rich country but families across Stirling are seeing their incomes hammered under Westminster control – and the UK economy is slumping behind.
“With Brexit costing the UK billions of pounds in long-term damage, and families facing the biggest fall in living standards on record, it’s clear Scotland needs independence so we can build a strong, fair and prosperous economy.
“Neither the Tories nor the pro-Brexit, pro-cuts Labour Party are being honest about the damage their policies are doing to Scotland. There’s a reason the UK is expected to have slower growth than any other major economy – including sanction-hit Russia.
“The SNP government will do everything it can to support people’s incomes, including progressive policies like the Scottish Child Payment – but with no change on offer at Westminster, Scotland needs independence to deliver the real change people across Stirling need.”
YouGov poll
Resolution Foundation analysis:
OBR: Economic and fiscal outlook, March 2023
Living standards – Page 8:
“Real household disposable income (RHDI) per person – a measure of real living standards – is expected to fall by a cumulative 5.7 per cent over the two financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24. While this is 1.4 percentage points less than forecast in November, it would still be the largest two-year fall since records began in 1956-57. The fall in RHDI per person mainly reflects the rise in the price of energy and other tradeable goods of which the UK is a net importer, resulting in inflation being above nominal wage growth. This means that real living standards are still 0.4 per cent lower than their pre-pandemic levels in 2027-28.”
Brexit – Page 46:
“On trade and productivity, we assume that the volume of UK imports and exports will both be 15 per cent lower in the long run than if we had remained in the EU, reducing the overall trade intensity of GDP. And we assume that this leads to a 4 per cent reduction in the potential productivity of the UK economy.”
Office for Budget Responsibility on Twitter: Living standards are expected to fall by 6% over this fiscal year and next as inflation outstrips income growth. This is less than the 7% fall we expected in November but still the largest two-year fall since ONS records began in the 1950s. #SpringBudget #Budget2023
OBR Economic and Fiscal Outlook – March 2023