Is this the Priority? Is this the Perfect Storm?

Today there are a lot of reports about what is to come in the coming months to all parts of the UK. Is this going to become the new priority? Is this the crisis that brings down Johnson? and is this another excuse for Nicola Sturgeon to delay any movement on independence yet again? (not that she needs an excuse).

Now that the full impact of Brexit is starting to hit leading up to July when the deal comes in in full we are facing the worst inflation and price rise crisis in the last 30 years. We have all seen the impact already at the shops, I know I have. It is being reported that “Cash-strapped consumers will be “harder pressed” this year, with shop prices set to rise at a faster rate than in 2021. The price of food and other goods will continue to mount in 2022 as Britons grapple with a cost of living crisis that will see energy bills, national insurance contributions and mortgage payments all climb too.

Fuel bills alone are set to hit £2000 per year for many families, once April arrives with the rise in NI and freezing of tax bands we are all going to be a lot worse off, that is not counting the amount of extra rises that will be passed on by companies due to Brexit. I have often said that it will take people starving in large numbers to make a shift in the desire for independence, is this the year that this happens? In Scotland we know that councils face yet more eye watering cuts yet again, a year on year exercise now, I suspect my own job is now under threat also. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said the outlook for shoppers in 2022 is “very clear” – prices will “continue to rise and at a faster rate” .

“Consumers may have noticed that their Christmas shop became a little more expensive in December. Not only did prices rise, but [they] did so at a faster rate, especially in food,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

She continued: “The trajectory for consumer prices is very clear – they will continue to rise, and at a faster rate.

“Retailers can no longer absorb all the cost pressures arising from more expensive transportation, labour shortages, and rising commodity and global food prices.

“Consumers will already be harder pressed this year, with rising energy bills, the looming hike in national insurance, and more expensive mortgages. Government should relieve some of these costs by looking for long-term solutions for resolvable issues such as labour shortages.” (The I)

We can argue about gender, the parties, but this is the issue that will shift opinion, this is the issue that will force more people to sit up and take notice about what is going on around them, this will force them to look at the SNP’s record in Government, this is the perfect storm. They key will be the Scottish Government demonstrating to people where independence would allow different decisions to be made, the question is will the SNP take advantage of the issues or will they use them to hide yet again from the constitutional debate. The Tories are going to be under immense pressure in the coming months with the cost of living, this is an opportunity, like many before it. Will Sturgeon step up to the plate or will she bottle it again? I know what my money is on.