Rachel Reeves: 'Prices are out of control'
Rachel Reeves, Labour's shadow chancellor, said today's inflation figures (see the post below at 08.22) showed that prices are still "out of control".
She said: "The question for families remains as real as ever - when will they feel better off under this Conservative Government?
"And, why when the cost of living continues to bite, is the Government refusing to freeze council tax this year, paid for by a proper windfall tax on oil and gas giants?
"The reality is that under the Tories our economy is weaker, prices are out of control and never have people paid so much to get so little in return.
"Labour will stand with working people and with our mission to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7, make families across every part of our country better off."
'We need to wait for the facts to be established'
Shona Robison, the deputy first minister and one of Nicola Sturgeon's closest friends, refused to speculate over whether the former leader's arrest was imminent.
"We need to wait for the facts to be established," she said.
"Whether that's through the ongoing police investigation or the review about how the party is managed. The public expect us to get our own house in order."
Ms Robison said she did not know if Ms Sturgeon had spoken to police already and had only had a brief text message exchange with her recently.
"Right at the beginning of this process I sent her a very short message just asking after he welfare. I got a very short reply. We've had no discussions whatsoever about the police investigation. It wouldn't be appropriate for me or her to do so."
Chancellor says Government 'on track' to deliver inflation promise as price rises fall
Jeremy Hunt said the Government is "on track" to deliver on its promise of halving inflation this year after price rises eased last month.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics this morning showed that the Consumer Prices Index rose by 10.1 per cent in the 12 months to March this year, down from 10.4 per cent in the 12 months to February.
Mr Hunt said: "These figures reaffirm exactly why we must continue with our efforts to drive down inflation so we can ease pressure on families and businesses.
"We are on track to do this – with the OBR forecasting we will halve inflation this year - and we’ll continue supporting people with cost-of-living support worth an average of £3,300 per household over this year and last, funded through windfall taxes on energy profits."
Police investigation won't derail independence push, says SNP MP
A police investigation into the SNP’s finances will not derail the push for Scottish independence, one of the party’s MPs has claimed.
Tommy Sheppard said the SNP’s “ambition” to breakaway from the rest of the UK “has not diminished as a result of these problems”.
He told Times Radio: “Whatever this problem is, we will identify it, we will fix it and we will move on because we have a historic responsibility to people who live in Scotland to represent their ambition to become an independent country.
“And that ambition has not diminished as a result of these problems within the SNP.”
He said the SNP "will move past this" and "we will again be able to put independence for Scotland firmly on the agenda as we go towards the next UK general election".