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.

‘Where the Hell is our government?’: Anas Sarwar demands action on cost of living crisis

Anas Sarwar MSP, leader of Scottish Labour.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he is struggling to contain his anger, as he demanded, “where the Hell is our government?”

Last week it was announced a new energy price cap will be introduced in October, meaning the average household’s energy bill will rise to around £3,549.

And strikes have been announced across the country.

Refuse workers in Dundee and Angus are currently undertaking an eight-day strike and some school staff in Tayside are due to go on strike next month.

Mr Sarwar now says both Westminster and Holyrood need to do more to stop families being pushed into destitution.

‘Zombie government’ nowhere to be seen

Speaking on The Sunday Show, Mr Sarwar said: “I have struggled to contain my anger over the last week.

“We had Ofgem’s announcement on the energy price cap and a zombie government that is nowhere to be seen while people are in despair across the country.

ernie ross
Labour’s Anas Sarwar.

“Where the Hell is our government?”

The Scottish Labour leader added many businesses will go bust and unemployment levels will rise if action is not taken to also support businesses through the cost of living crisis.

Call for SNP to accept responsibility

Mr Sarwar added both the UK Government and the Scottish Government have a “moral duty” to support people through the crisis.

He said: “We are making a demand on the UK Government to immediately cancel the increase to save families over £1,000.

“I accept a big part of this is for the UK Government and for them to bring down inflation, and the Scottish Government should be making demands of the UK Government.

“But the Scottish Government needs to recognise they are not commentators, they have powers of responsibility.”

He suggests Holyrood could work to bring down the cost of commuting, introduce an eviction ban, freeze rents, write off £1 million of school meals debt and put more money into the Scottish welfare fund.

Mr Sarwar added these could be paid for by having a windfall tax on energy companies making “record” profits and from unallocated money in the Scottish Government’s reserves.

SNP criticises Westminster over crisis

Over the weekend the SNP have also said the UK Government is not using its reserved powers to support people through the cost of living crisis.

Alison Thewliss, the SNP’s shadow chancellor, says the Conservatives in Westminster are “abandoning families and businesses”.

Alison Thewliss MP.

She added Boris Johnson is refusing to do the job of prime minister over the summer.

The next prime minister won’t be announced until September 5.

She said: “Households need help right now – and many businesses are on the verge of closing their doors.

“They can’t afford to wait weeks or months more, without knowing when, what or whether any meaningful support will come.

“The UK Government must stop passing the buck, reverse the energy price cap rise, and recall parliament immediately to deliver an emergency budget that provides the support people need – including scrapping VAT on fuel, doubling support for households, and introducing an energy price cap and grants for businesses.”