THE LEADER of the House of Commons Mark Spencer has said that the Cabinet has not met since the “end of July,” in an interview on BBC Breakfast.
This comes as financial expert Martin Lewis says that the energy crisis will reach the “scale of the pandemic”.
Energy bosses are set to meet with Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi on Thursday as the price cap is set to hit more than £4200 in January.
Asked by presenter Charlie Stayt about the last time Cabinet met, Spencer responded: “Cabinet met before the House of Commons rose but of course we’re in constant contact with each other, the Government continues to function and I think there are a number of packages that are already organised that are coming down the track to help and support people.”
On Monday, Nicola Sturgeon wrote to Boris Johnson asking him to convene an emergency meeting in order to tackle the growing cost of living crisis.
This followed the news from the Bank of England that inflation will peak at more than 13% and that the UK was set to fall into its longest recession since the financial crisis.
Stayt continued to press Spencer for a specific time on when Cabinet last met, to which the MP for Sherwood said: “Just before the House of Commons rose at the end of the month, at the end of July.”
Charlie Stayt: When was the last time the cabinet meet? Mark Spencer(Leader HoC): The end of July.. but the govt continues to function Charlie Stayt: Martin Lewis says this is on the scale of the pandemic... so why are you not meeting & talking about this? #BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/e9pbfx9LzV
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) August 11, 2022
Spencer was then directly asked about comments made by Martin Lewis on Wednesday.
The consumer champion hit back at the government’s suggestion that nothing could be done about the energy crisis until a successor was appointed as “complete bull”.
Spencer continued: “Well it doesn’t require the whole Cabinet to respond because clearly the Chancellor of the Exchequer is still in his office and delivering within the Treasury.
“The Business Secretary is still functioning within that department.
“It doesn’t require every member of the Cabinet to get round the same table. It requires those people within government to focus on their job and that’s exactly what they are doing.”
Speaking to The National, SNP MP Brendan O'Hara said: "This zombie government has been in hiding over the spiralling cost of living crisis that they created, all at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society who're being left with no financial support to help get through the coming months.
"With each day that passes more and more families are plunged into poverty and a situation where in the winter months they'll have to make the choice between heating or eating.
"This is a lamentable situation that should've shamed the Tories into action long ago."
O'Hara added that the country was in "a state of limbo" and that the outgoing Boris Johnson was using his departure from Downing Street as an "excuse to be absent from the wheel".
He added that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were "dancing around" the cost of living "to appeal to their privileged base".
O'Hara continued: "If there was any shred of humanity in this government they'd have recalled parliament long ago to discuss what emergency measures could be brought into place to secure incomes, keep bills low, and keep the lights on.
"Sadly, we have the Tories in power and any hope of humanity from them is futile.
"It's high time Scotland took matters into its own hands and freed itself from the harm of Tory rule forever, with the full powers of independence."
