Posted by ‘Laughing all way to bank’: Sturgeon takes just minutes to twist knife over crisis budget
The Scottish leader’s comments came as Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng outlined his economic plan in Parliament.
11:19, Fri, Sep 23, 2022 | UPDATED: 13:59, Fri, Sep 23, 2022
Mini Budget: Kwasi Kwarteng outlines plans for ‘tax incentives’
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Nicola Sturgeon has taken just minutes to fire her anger at the Government over the mini budget announcements this morning. The First Minister of Scotland said following the statement to the House of Commons even many of the country’s “super wealthy” would be “appalled by the moral bankruptcy of the Tories”.
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Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng took to the despatch box this morning to lay out his economic package for the nation just weeks after Liz Truss’s new administration took over.
He vowed to scrap the highest rate of income tax for top earners, and reduced the basic rate to 19 percent – which Scottish Tories are calling for the devolved Government to follow suit.
The rise in national insurance proposed under Boris Johnson has also been cancelled, which the Treasury said would benefit 2.3 million people in Scotland.
His announcements came as the UK faces massive inflation and a squeezed cost of living for many, on the backdrop of an energy crisis and a war in Europe.
Sturgeon said even the ‘super wealthy’ would be ‘appalled’ by the latest mini budget (Image: Getty)
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But Ms Sturgeon took issue with the Chancellor’s focus on handing money back to already high earners while many working families struggle.
In a tweet, the First Minister said that “the super wealthy laughing all the way to the actual bank (though I suspect many of them will also be appalled by the moral bankruptcy of the Tories) while increasing numbers of the rest relying on food banks”.
She added that this was “all thanks to the incompetence and recklessness” of the UK Government.
John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, who is responsible for the finance brief while Finance Secretary Kate Forbes is on maternity leave, said Mr Kwarteng’s statement would be “cold comfort to the millions of people across Scotland who have been looking for the UK Government to use their reserved powers to provide support for those that need it most”.
Kwarteng took to the despatch box this morning to lay out his economic package for the nation (Image: PA)
He added: “Instead we get tax cuts for the rich and nothing for those who need it most.
“We estimate that the increase in the price cap to £2,500 will force an estimated 150,000 more Scottish households into extreme fuel poverty.
“Instead of offering these people support, the Chancellor is threatening to cut their family budgets further, with a new regime of benefit sanctions.”
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