Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

COURIER OPINION: Gordon Brown is right – Truss and Sunak must prioritise the cost of living crisis

Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown says the UK government is neglecting the cost of living crisis amid the Tory leadership battle. Photo: Robert Perry/PA Wire.

Gordon Brown is right to demand a much greater sense of urgency from politicians to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

The former prime minister has warned the UK will be hit with a “financial time bomb” that will “push millions over the edge”.

The former Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP has accused the UK Government of neglecting the crisis because they are distracted by the Tory leadership contest.

Sunak and Truss have emerged as the final two candidates for the leadership race of the Conservative party. Photo: Chine Nouvelle/SIPA/Shutterstock

There is no doubt that the situation facing the country is stark and will require considerable effort from politicians.

It is estimated almost 50% of the country are under threat of fuel poverty when energy prices go up again in October.

That is a shocking statistic that speaks of untold misery for 35 million people.

Yet neither Liz Truss nor Rishi Sunak have set out anything resembling a plan for getting to grips with the unfolding disaster.

Ms Truss – the favourite to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister – yesterday vowed to cut national insurance as quickly as possible on entering Downing Street.

That seems the wrong priority when people are crying out for help.


Conversation