Scots are today facing a triple whammy of price increases with rail fares, booze prices and energy bills set to soar.
Commuters will face much higher train costs as peak rail fares return. The price of alcohol in pubs and shops will also rise, as minimum unit pricing increases by almost a third. Gas and electricity prices will also skyrocket as the energy price cap jumps.
Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman said people would “suffer” from the rail fare hikes, called for energy price controls and said minimum unit pricing “hasn’t been the answer the SNP hoped for.”
ScotRail users will be hammered by the reintroduction of peak rail fares from this morning. Commuters will see a sharp increase in the price of their ticket if they travel on a ScotRail service before 9.30am or from 4.30-6pm on weekdays.
The change has seen the price of an anytime return ticket between Glasgow and Edinburgh rise from £16.20 to £31.40. ScotRail had introduced a pilot last October which made fares the same at all times of the day but the SNP Government decided to scrap the policy due to financial pressures.
Booze prices will increase as the minimum price per unit of alcohol goes up from 50p to 65p today. The minimum price for a four pack of Tennent’s cans will rise from £3.52 to £4.58. A 70cl of Famous Grouse will go from £14 to £18.20 and a bottle of Blossom Hill wine will go from £4.69 to £6.10.
Gas and electricity prices will skyrocket this week as the energy price cap increases. On Tuesday prices will go up by 10 per cent. This means that people using an average amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,717 a year adding £149 onto the average household bill.
Alloa and Grangemouth MP Leishman said: “There’s no doubt that people are going to suffer from the SNP decision to hike rail fares. People using the train is good for our environment and alleviates road congestion so this decision to punish train users is ridiculous.
“With the ongoing cost of living crisis and energy companies making huge profits the need for price control is obvious. People are being failed by a system that is rigged for the benefit of corporate profit. These companies have to be properly controlled, that means government legislation that protects people. Protection and fairness has to come in the form of government action because history shows us that companies will always put profit before people.
“After 17 years of the SNP our NHS is on its knees and MUP being labelled as a positive action to combat addiction is at best misguided and at worst downright lazy as it ignores the real issue of why so many people are living with addiction and how to help them.
“People with alcohol addiction need access to treatment that will save their lives and years ago the public were told that MUP would help save lives, but there is no hard evidence that it has. MUP hasn’t been the answer the SNP hoped for, it’s just another example of failed politics that has been ineffective and punishes people.”
Scottish Lib Dem MSP Willie Rennie called for the SNP and Labour Governments to do more to help Scots who “have already been feeling the pinch from rapidly increasing prices, especially in their energy bills, in recent years.”
He continued: “A good start from the new Labour government would be to reverse its decision to cut the Winter Fuel Allowance and help protect struggling pensioners.
“There is also plenty the SNP government could do to help struggling Scots, like cutting fares on government owned ScotRail or bringing down people’s energy bills with an emergency insulation programme.”
Green co-leader Lorna Slater said: “Over the last 14 years of Tory rule we got used to seeing prices go up, benefits go down, services suffer, and wages stagnate. That’s the reality of austerity. So it’s baffling to see Labour double down on it.
“There is an alternative. The UK has the money, it’s just being hoarded by a tiny minority. We can tax the rich and use that money to build our country up rather than cut it down. Labour and the SNP are trying to pretend they don’t have a choice here, but that simply isn’t the case.”
A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said: “The Scottish Government would be open to consider future subsidy to remove peak fares should UK budget allocations improve in future years.
“Ministers understand this will be disappointing for many rail users, particularly for those who cannot choose when they travel to and from work. That is why a 12-month discount on all ScotRail season tickets has been introduced, available weekly, monthly and annually.”
On minimum unit pricing, SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray said: “Research commended by internationally-renowned public health experts estimated that our world-leading policy has saved hundreds of lives, likely averted hundreds of alcohol-attributable hospital admissions and contributed to reducing health inequalities.”
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