Ash Regan MSP, ALBA Party Holyrood leader, has urgently condemned the latest UK inflation rise to 3%—a 10-month high—warning that it further reduces the likelihood of an interest rate cut, piling immediate pressure on households already struggling with the cost of living crisis.
Ash Regan said:
“Today’s inflation rise is devastating for households across Scotland, already struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living accelerates. Ten years on from the Independence Referendum, Scotland remains shackled to successive UK Governments that have mismanaged our resources and drained money from our people’s pockets.
It is staggering that, after years of preparation time, while the Tories imploded over Brexit, Labour is still failing to offer a credible economic strategy. Rents and mortgage rates are unlikely to ease anytime soon, as the Bank of England projects inflation to hit 3.7% by summer. This predicted rise—driven by soaring global energy costs—only makes the economic vandalism inflicted on energy-rich Scotland even more galling.
Scotland cannot afford to be a bystander to UK economic mismanagement. The need for full fiscal controls and decision-making powers from independence to secure our own future is more urgent than ever.