Majority of SNP and Tory voters think Forbes and Sunak have failed on cost of living

Conducted by BMG Research, pollsters asked 1012 adults aged over 16 about how they felt about the rising cost of living, and their financial situation in the last year.

More than half (59 per cent) said they were either struggling or 'just about managing', with 48% saying their household finances had already got worse in the last year, and 54% saying they expected to be in a poorer situation over the next 12 months.

Asked about the issue which mattered most to them, 42% of people said the cost of living, compared to just 9% who believed Covid was still their biggest concern.

This is compared to similar polls conducted a year ago, which showed 40% felt Covid was their biggest worry, compared to just 4% who said the cost of living at the time.

Campaigners say the findings highlight the level of national anxiety about spiralling living costs, with fuel bills rising by up to £700 a year, inflation rising at its fastest level in 30 years and food costs soaring.

Neil Cowan, policy and campaigns manager at the Poverty Alliance said people needed to see "all levels of government using every power at their disposal to protect them from being pulled into deeper financial struggle", adding that the UK Government's response particularly had been "utterly inadequate".

He added: "The Chancellor's recent Spring Statement contained nothing to ease the pressure on low income households, and represented a failure of courage, compassion and justice.

"It's critical that policy-makers listen to these findings, and act on the very real struggles being faced by households."

Along with increasing concern about the cost of living, voters across Scotland all said they felt the UK Chancellor and Scotland's finance secretary were not doing enough to help them.

When asked if they felt Rishi Sunak had done enough, 78% said he needed to do more, or much more - including 74% of people who voted for his party in the last General Election.

Asked the same question about Kate Forbes, 63% said she needed to do more to help those struggling, including 66% of SNP voters in 2019.

Pollster Jack Curry, of BMG Research, said the difference between the two was not due to more people being positive about Kate Forbes' response to the crisis, but because more people said they did not know how they felt about her measures.

He said: " The public wants politicians of every stripe to take more action. Just 1 in 10 say Kate Forbes has done enough to support households. Worryingly for the Scottish Government, two-thirds of those who voted SNP in 2019 say she needs to do more.

"There are also troubling signs for the Conservatives among those aged 55 and over, the age group most likely to have voted Tory in 2019.

"Not only does this group have the highest proportion of those who expect their household finances to get worse in the next year, they are also most likely to believe Rishi Sunak should be doing much more to help."

Scottish Labour's finance spokesman Daniel Johnson said the findings were "shameful" and showed "the damage being done by SNP and Tory inaction", criticising both governments' rejection of Labour plans which he said would have saved people £1000.

He added: "Rishi Sunak and Kate Forbes are both failing Scots by refusing to use the powers they have to make life easier.

"The Tories do not seem to know or care how difficult things are, and the SNP are more interested in finger pointing and political games than helping.

"They cannot keep passing the buck when people are worried about how to put food on the table.

"Scottish Labour’s plans could safe households over £1,000, but both governments need to be willing to act."

The Scottish Government said it was "acutely aware" of the issues people were facing, adding it had done "all we can" to give people and businesses "as much support as possible".

A spokesman referred to measures including a £150 cost of living payment, increasing social security benefits and doubling the Scottish child payment.

He added: "The Scottish Government is acutely aware that people across Scotland are worried about their future as they struggle with the recent sharp rise in the cost of living.

"That is why we are doing all we can to ensure people, communities and businesses are given as much support as possible, including increasing the value of a number of Scottish social security benefits, doubling the Scottish Child Payment and providing a £150 cost of living payment which will reach 73% of households.

"Many of the powers required to tackle these issues, including energy markets, are reserved to the UK Government, but vital steps we proposed for the Chancellor’s Spring Statement were largely ignored." 

Meanwhile the Treasury said it knew people were worried about costs due to the "record global energy prices ", adding that it had given Holyrood ministers "almost £300 million as a result of the council tax rebate in England which can be used to provide cost of living help to people in Scotland".

A spokesman for the Treasury added: "We know that people are concerned about the rising cost of living in the face of record global energy prices as we emerge from the pandemic.

"That is why we’ve acted to help support households in Scotland with their energy bills through our £200 rebate, which is part of our £22 billion of support to help with the cost of living.

"We have provided the Scottish Government with almost £300 million as a result of the council tax rebate in England which can be used to provide cost of living help to people in Scotland, on top of a record £41 billion per year settlement announced at the Spending Review – the largest settlement since devolution.

"We’ll continue to monitor how global events impact on energy bills here at home into the Autumn and will consider further support if needed."