For immediate release:

UK GOVERNMENT KNOCKS BACK BID FOR MORTGAGE AND ENERGY SUPPORT

The UK Government has rejected pleas from Rutherglen’s MSP to introduce support to help local residents hit hard by the cost of living crisis.

Local MSP Clare Haughey wrote to the Chancellor calling on him to introduce tax relief on mortgage payments in a bid to support homeowners. A similar scheme, Miras, was available previously in the 1980 and 1990s where people could request mortgage interest relief at source.

Additionally, the SNP politician urged the Westminster government to bring back the £400 energy rebate that households benefitted from between October 2022 and March 2023.

Both requests were refused by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury in a letter to Ms Haughey dated October 19.

Commenting, Clare Haughey MSP said:

“People across Rutherglen and Cambuslang are paying the price for Westminster’s economic mismanagement with rising mortgage payments – on top of rocketing energy bills and soaring food prices.

“UK inflation is still rampant and, for many, the cost of living crisis has only got tougher this year as vital support has been withdrawn. Not only that, many people are still in debt from last winter’s energy bills, never mind having to contend with increased costs with the colder weather we are now experiencing.

“Help with mortgage interest relief and the £400 energy rebate would have gone a long way in supporting families squeezed by the cost of living crisis, but Westminster has buried its head in the sand.”

ENDS