Cost of Living: Conservatives blaming people for not earning enough

By Lucy Ashton

Responding to a UK Government minister saying people should take on more hours or get a new job to deal with the cost of living crisis, Liberal Democrat Work & Pensions spokesperson Wendy Chamberlain MP, pictured right,  said:”So the Conservatives’ answer to the cost-of-living emergency is that people should just earn more? This shows just how out of touch they truly are.

“Millions of families have had to make huge cutbacks and taken on extra work in order to weather the cost of living crisis. They simply cannot do any more.

“Instead of blaming people for not earning enough, Ministers should take real action to help families and pensioners now – by slashing VAT to give people £600 back in their pockets and putting a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to bring energy bills down.”

The LIbDems have significant representation in the three Lomond wards in Argyll and Bute Council.

Meanwhile, following reports in The Scotsman that Scottish Government-run ScotRail is preparing to announce a raft of cuts to its services and timetables in response to its ongoing dispute with the train drivers’ union, Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Jill Reilly, pictured left,  commented:

“The Scottish Government has known for two years that it is going to be taking on ScotRail but it’s totally unprepared.

“The SNP/Green Government has with no plans for what to do differently or how to resolve issues such as this. The only plan they could scrape together – a quick sale – could now hit the buffers amid unprecedented disruption.

“Passengers are set to pay a heavy price for their dithering if the timetable is cut back by anything like the third being reported. They deserve better than this shambles.”