It says a lot when the boss of one of the UK’s biggest energy companies admits that people are terrified of how expensive their bills will become this winter. Scottish Power chief executive Keith Anderson said that people are feeling “genuine fear” as energy bills rise “off the charts”.
He’s called on the UK Government to double the support packages it put in place in May – and he’s right to do so. The consequences of doing nothing do not bear thinking about.
People are already struggling to make ends meet. If the energy price cap is raised as planned, then many people will simply decide they can no longer afford heating. It will cause misery, illness and deaths.
It is vital the UK Government steps in. We’re used to corporate bigwigs hiding in their ivory towers to count their profits. So Anderson deserves credit for speaking out on an issue that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak would seemingly prefer to ignore.
One of these Tories will shortly become the next Prime Minister. Yet they are more comfortable speaking to rooms of Conservative Party members about the same old right-wing talking points.
Taking hard decisions on how best to help people is what political leaders should be doing every day. Instead we have Boris Johnson on an extended holiday and his likely successor living in a Tory fantasy land. Anderson is right to speak out. Downing Street should listen to him.
Statue of boxing legend Ken is a fitting tribute to a Scottish hero
Ken Buchanan is a true Scottish sporting hero. The statue of him unveiled in Edinburgh yesterday was made possible by six years of tireless fundraising.
But the permanent memorial is also a tribute to the Ken Buchanan MBE Foundation’s dedication. Ken hung up his gloves more than 40 years ago but is still considered boxing royalty around the world.
He became world lightweight champion in 1971 and was one of the sport’s hottest properties, beating the legendary Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier to the American Boxing Writers’ Association’s Fighter of the Year title.
That is no small feat, and his old rival Jim Watt speaking so warmly about Ken shows how much respect he has.
Ken has had some difficult years since retiring and was recently diagnosed with dementia. That he should see the statue be erected would have been a proud moment for his supporters and the Leith community.
Yesterday’s ceremony reminded us that tributes should not only be reserved for legends once they have left us.
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