SNP's Drew Hendry warns over household bills rising under new Chancellor's U-turn on energy price cap
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A SNP MP has warned struggling households could face bills of up to £5,000 next April, after the Conservatives scrapped protections offered to families on the energy price cap.
Drew Hendry's warning comes after a large reversal of the mini-budget that was originally overseen by now ousted Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
New incumbent minister Jeremy Hunt who took over the top finance role in Liz Truss's cabinet has since announced a scaling back of the energy price cap freeze, which will now last for only six months instead of the two years initially promised.
Mr Hendry, who represents Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey has branded the decision "reckless", warning households could face massive energy bill rises again in April 2023.
Accusing the Labour party of failing to offer real opposition after their failure to vote against the changes, the MP said that in his opinion the only way households could be properly supported would come through Scottish independence.
Mr Hendry said: “It can be in no doubt that Scots, who are paying a heavy price for Westminster’s failures, would be better off with the full powers of independence.
“On a day where the Scottish Government set out a prospectus offering a brighter economic future, the Tory UK government were forced to roll back heavily on its proposals that crashed the UK economy.
"And with it, they recklessly removed the very little protection they offered to households through what is set to be an ever-worsening cost of living crisis the Tories have failed to get a grip of.
“They were already too late to act on energy bills, and now households face even bigger rises in April when the measly half-baked proposals to help families are scaled back in the latest iteration of Westminster Tory austerity.
“What’s worse is that, given a chance to stand up for struggling households, the Labour Party once again sat on its hands and refused to offer up real opposition, leaving families in the firing line.
"There is little difference between the Conservative and Labour parties these days.
“By contrast, to help with the cost of living crisis the Scottish Government have used their limited powers to uprate eight benefits and bring in further increases to the Scottish Child Payment, but all of that work risks being undone or offset by the calamity ensuing in Westminster. It's clear real support can only come with independence.
"Scots should no longer be forced to bear the rising cost of Westminster failure and must be able to assume the full powers of independence so they can set out on a different, better path.”
