SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP has said that the first act of the next British Prime Minister must be to bring forward an emergency budget to address the cost of living crisis.

Speaking ahead of the announcement of the result of the Conservative Party Leadership contest, the Foyle MP said that urgent intervention is needed to protect working families and vulnerable households in Northern Ireland this winter.

The SDLP Leader has said that any such budget must include additional windfall taxes on large energy companies continuing to make enormous profits as a result of the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.

Colum Eastwood MP said:

“The Conservative Party has spent the entire summer demonstrating how unfit they are to hold high office during the real emergency facing working families and vulnerable households. The first act of the next British Prime Minister must be to introduce an emergency budget to address the pressure on people and families across Northern Ireland.

“Over the last few months, the SDLP has been engaging with statutory agencies, charities and businesses to determine the interventions needed to protect people ahead of an incredibly difficult winter. The scale of the crisis we’re facing should not be underestimated – without immediate financial support lives and livelihoods will be placed at risk.

“The next British Government must give an early commitment to further address the obscene profiteering by large energy companies as a result of the crisis by introducing additional windfall taxes to fund new direct support schemes. Without an Executive and without action from ‘caretaker’ Ministers, the situation facing people across the North is particularly acute and must be addressed urgently.”