Cost of living crisis proves 2014 Union dividend 'was a lie', claims SNP MSP

dailyrecord.co.uk:

An SNP MSP has claimed the cost of living crisis has "exposed as a lie" a key claim made by the pro-Union campaign before the 2014 independence referendum.Jim Fairlie pointed to analysis issued by the UK Treasury eight years ago which claimed Scots could look forward to a "£1,400 dividend" if they voted No.

It was based on the presumption the public would enjoy "lower taxes and sustained public services as part of the UK". But the cost of living crisis - prompted by rising inflation and soaring energy bills - means members of the public will be an average of £2,417 worse off in 2022.

The Bank of England said it would be the biggest fall in living standards since records began in 1990 after Rishi Sunak confirmed the price cap on fuel bills would be lifted to £2,000.The average family will be £2,417 worse off this year thanks to rocketing energy prices, higher National Insurance contributions and soaring interest rates - despite a the chancellor providing a £9 billion bail-out.Fairlie claimed the Tories had made the situation worse by hiking taxes on the lowest paidThe MSP for Perthshire South said: "Yet another key claim made by the No campaign in 2014 has been exposed as a lie this week as the cost of living crisis spirals out of control and will force thousands of families in Scotland into poverty."The squeeze on the cost of living is made worse by cruel Tory policies as they hike taxes for those on the lowest wages and fail to come up with effective solutions for the energy price increases."Worst of all, the Tories took £20 a week from families on Universal Credit at a time when they needed it most."Promise after promise made to Scotland in the No campaign are thrown on the scrapheap – and as every lie unravels the