Boris Johnson has been urged to “sack the chancellor” and take action to meet the cost of living crisis.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford called on the Prime Minister to get rid of Rishi Sunak if he is the roadblock to an emergency budget to help people with rising energy costs.
With inflation running at nine per cent the Tory leader came under fire at Prime Minister’s Questions to take action, something Blackford said the chancellor refused to do.
Blackford said: “The chancellor thinks it would be silly to act now.
"For weeks the Prime Minister has been briefing that it’s the Treasury to blame for blocking financial support.
“Well, Prime Minister it’s time to stop sniping from the sidelines. If this chancellor won’t deliver an emergency budget it’s time to sack the Treasury, sack the chancellor.”
Keir Starmer said it was only a matter of time before the Prime Minister made an “inevitable U-turn” and imposed a windfall tax on oil and gas firms which Labour has been demanding.
Confronting the Prime Minister, Starmer said: “He doesn’t actually understand what working families are going through in this country. Struggling about how they’re going to pay their bills.
“While he dithers British households are slapped with an extra £53 million on their energy bills every single day. Meanwhile every single day North Sea oil and gas giants rake in £32 million in unexpected profits.
“Doesn’t he see that every single day he delays his inevitable U-turn, he’s going to do it, he’s choosing to let people struggle when they don’t need to.”
But Johnson batted away the demands, claiming the government was already helping struggling families.
He added: “In July we will have the biggest tax cut for 10 years, £330 cut on average for 30 million people who are paying National Insurance Contributions and the reason we can do that is because we have a strong and robust economy.
“I’m going to look at all measures in future to support, of course I am, but the only reason we can do that, the only reason our companies are in such robust health is because of the decisions that this Government has taken.”
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