LEVELLING up for whom? I have no doubt the energy companies will be applauding the Chancellor – after all, he gave them no mention! No windfall tax on their immoral profits, a positive message to all those who are struggling? No equality for Westminster benefits claimants, as devolved benefits in Scotland are rising by 6% while Westminster-controlled benefits will rise by a mere 3.1% – too little when we consider inflation is ballooning. No hand reached out to those with long-term conditions, those who rely on household machinery for their conditions or for those who require additional heating.

The Chancellor had the opportunity in his statement to recognise the immense contribution carers make. Carers’ Allowance Supplement is paid in Scotland (£237.90 six-monthly) and on the very day the Chancellor was making his statement, the Welsh Government announced a £500 one-off payment to carers in Wales. Yet carers did not feature in the Chancellor’s statement.

READ MORE: Charities criticise Rishi Sunak for failing to tackle cost of living crisis

Instead we got 5p off fuel duty, a token gesture in the crisis and one that goes nowhere near far enough to truly impact on household expenditure. The threshold being raised before one pays National Insurance was welcomed, however the Chancellor should have gone further and scrapped the upcoming increase.

Child poverty is rising and the current cost-of-living increases will only serve to exacerbate poverty, and the Chancellor had a golden opportunity to follow the Scottish Government and introduce the “Child Payment” for households in England. In Scotland this payment is about to double to £20/week – a massive step in light of the cost-of-living increases. Tackling child poverty is a major issue due to the wide-ranging impact poverty has on the country, so the Chancellor missed another opportunity by not re-instating the £20/week uplift to Universal Credit.

It may be worth noting that as the Chancellor was on his feet, inflation hit a 30-year high (6.2%) and the closure of 19 Bank of Scotland branch were announced!

The Chancellor’s statement was eerily silent on the climate crisis. This statement neither stepped up nor levelled up, and those currently struggling will sleep no easier as a result of Rishi Sunak receiving the applause and approval of Boris Johnson!

Catriona C Clark
Falkirk

THE Office for Budget Responsibility has said that the Chancellor’s announcements since last October will only offset a third of the fall in living standards. This means ordinary people will have to bear the pain of the other two-thirds.

His decision not to increase state benefits mean that children will go hungry and parents will not be able to heat their homes.

Household incomes have dropped at the fastest level in history.

READ MORE: Spring Statement slammed as inadequate by opposition

Rishi Sunak wants to distract from the fact he is raising National Insurance by £12 billion and that income tax will rise by £21bn over the next four years with the freezing of bands. Taxes are at the highest point in 70 years The alleged cut to fuel duty is a massive distraction. The fat cats in the energy companies are making record profits. This is as a direct result of the Tory-manufactured cost-of-living crisis. Even with the cut in fuel duty it is doubtful retailers will pass on any savings to consumers.

Sunak is an old-fashioned Tory Chancellor who wants to slash spending. After 12 years of gross economic incompetence and savage, brutal austerity, most people in the UK are worse off by thousands of pounds. This is not an accident.

This is the inevitable outcome of the Tory class war.

Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee

BEN Wallace at the Ministry of Defence is a danger to Scotland’s security.

He was caught in a telephone hoax. He obviously did not go through the security procedures which are in place, assuming HMG’s Ministry of Defence has such in place. Maybe not!  However, what he revealed and the nature of it suggests he needs to be sacked.

Firstly, he was caught out – a really gullible minister indeed, he probably was flattered in some way by the callers. He tries, however, to dissemble by claiming the Russians must be “panicking” to resort to such tactics! Really! Deception is a well-used tactic to gain advantage. The UK in World War Two used it to great effect. Poor Ben Wallace has been stung indeed.

READ MORE: Russia blamed for hoax calls to Priti Patel and Nadine Dorries

However, the details the released clip reveal about what he blabbed are worrying. He revealed details which a man in his position should never even have entered into. The clever hoaxers have hung him out to dry. Has he even apologised for this?

He highlighted that the UK has a dwindling stock of anti-tank weapons. He even quoted the number: “We’ve given you over 4,000. We’ve got more coming. We are running out of our own. I speak to minister Reznikov or text him every day.”

Wallace claims the tape has been doctored. Given the fact that he has been “stung”, taken in so easily, one can only assume that he has a loose tongue, is gullible and is clearly unfit for the task. A man probably too full of his own puffed-up importance that he fails to think critically and with caution.

There have been two clips so far. What else will be revealed in the coming days? He really must be hauled into the Commons and be thoroughly grilled. A lapse of such judgement and the utter carelessness of his loose tongue is dangerous.

There are no excuses in this instance. We Scots must be appalled at this latest gaffe from the Cabinet. Can one feel safe with this nonentity in office?

John Edgar
Kilmaurs