Kirsteen Sullivan

The real tests of this Budget are the families who notice every extra penny at the petrol station, every increase in the energy bill, and the pounds adding to the price of the weekly shop. The war in Iran carries a price tag for the globe, and that is clear at the petrol pump and in our energy bills. For motorists, and for more than 3,500 workers in transport and logistics in my constituency, the price at the pump matters. I therefore welcome the continued freeze in the fuel duty cut until July 2027, a measure that I have called for throughout the year. I also welcome the end to standing charges for gas, and the £100 payment to those in council tax bands A to D. That will make the thought of bills during the upcoming winter that bit less stressful. If the Scottish Government do the same, more than 119,000 households in the West Lothian and Falkirk council areas will benefit. That money must be passed on. Our constituents cannot afford for it to disappear into the black hole created by the Scottish National party’s mismanagement of Scotland’s finances. These measures mean real reductions in bills, shifting the brunt of levies and standing charges away from the consumer just as the worst hits.