Labour calls for emergency cost of living budget

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said that his party is calling for an emergency budget to bring forward more measures to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Morning show, Starmer stressed that the government's response had been ‘woeful’ and demanded further measures like a windfall tax on energy firms.

His comments follow similar calls from the Scottish National Party from earlier this month, who argued that the Conservatives had ignored the cost of living crisis ‘brewing under its watch’. In recent months there have been dramatic increases in fuel, energy and food prices which are hitting people's pockets, with inflation running at a 30-year high.

Labour has outlined five policy demands for an emergency budget, including its ongoing call for the windfall tax - saying they would use the money to cut household bills by up to £600 - and cancelling the NI rise.

The other measures include: a discount on business rates for small and medium sized businesses; a rapid ‘ramp-up’ of installing insulation into homes across the country to save on energy bills; and an investigation by the National Crime Agency into taxpayer money lost through fraud.