Scotland has the energy, we just need the powers — scottish national party

Today is Fuel Poverty Awareness Day and People in Scotland are grappling with the distressing reality of living in fuel poverty, having to deal with the rising energy prices and the effects

that fuel poverty has on lives. The SNP Scottish Government is prioritising people’s lives and initiating support because no person should have to choose between being warm or feeding their

children. The rising cost of living is drastically exacerbating fuel poverty and Westminster has completely failed to protect families. Instead of making people’s lives better, Westminster

is making the lives of people in Scotland continuously worse. In fact, due to Westminster’s careless and inhumane austerity policies, Westminster is pushing more people in Scotland into fuel

poverty, for example from 1 January 2024 the price for energy for a typical household who uses gas and electricity will go up by £94. The energy price cap will take the price cap from

£1,834 to £1,928 per year, there is no excuse for this to be happening. People are struggling and already suffering at the hands of the Tories’ yet their response is to make families’ lives

even harder. Enough is enough. > Poverty and the Cost of Living crisis are the biggest challenges > facing us – exacerbated by the UK Government. >  > We can’t wish poverty away.

 We must be realistic about what can be > done – then focus on making it happen. The debate must now be > about tax, targeting and tough choices. https://t.co/DdjduYSLNK >  > — 

Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) May 3, 2023 WHAT IS FUEL POVERTY? Fuel poverty is when people can’t afford to pay for a necessary level of warmth in their home and can be determined by three

factors:  the household income, energy costs and energy efficiency of a home. Around 850,000 HOUSEHOLDS in Scotland are estimated to be living in fuel poverty. Fuel poverty means that

families and people are living in persistently cold homes, we all know how cold a Scottish Winter can be and we all need warmth to not just survive but to live our day to lives without the

added stress and misery of being too cold.  Fuel poverty harms people’s lives causing:  * Adverse physical health,  increasing the risk of heart attacks, strokes, bronchitis, and asthma. *

Poor mental health – fuel poverty is a known risk factor for suicide. * Prevention of children from thriving, interrupting their school development and effecting their personal hygiene,

which can lead to bullying and disrupt children’s life chances. * Social exclusion, due to not having a warm place to congregate in a home, fuel poverty leaves families staying in their beds

for warmth, often in the dark.  * Unsustainable levels of debt for households * Unsafe energy rationing We are working hard to protect people across Scotland from the Tory cost-of-living

crisis by supporting people who are struggling and in fuel poverty. > 📣 We have increased support for households struggling with energy > costs, helping to lift people out of fuel 

poverty. >  > 💡 Exceeding our commitment to double the Fuel Insecurity Fund, we > have now tripled it to £30 million. pic.twitter.com/4MbelXRqsl >  > — The SNP (@theSNP) May 

2, 2023 THE SNP ARE HELPING PEOPLE WITH RISING ENERGY COSTS First Minister, Humza Yousaf has tripled the fuel insecurity fund to £30 million, delivering tailored support to tens of thousands

of households. Your SNP Scottish Government is prioritising families during the cost-of-living crisis by freezing council tax for all households next year and providing support to people

through these challenging times. Through the islands cost crisis emergency fund, the SNP Scottish Government has provided an additional £1 million this year to support islanders who are

facing high fuel, food and energy costs helping them to meet the cost of living pressures. We replaced the DWP’s Cold Weather Payment which those on lowest incomes could only get if it was

cold enough for long enough. We’ve set up the Winter Heating Payment, and this year £50 was automatically paid to the the 400,000 lowest income people to support them with their energy

bills. In the longer term, we’re investing £1.6 billion to make homes across Scotland more energy efficient – helping to tackle fuel poverty and tackle the climate emergency. Scotland would

be better situated to tackle fuel poverty with the full powers of independence. > ❌ Families across Scotland are suffering because of the > Westminster cost-of-living crisis. > 

> 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Freezing Council Tax next year will > support families and workers across Scotland. >  > 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 With the powers it has, the SNP > Scottish Government is delivering 

for Scotland. > pic.twitter.com/qpVdhhyO8U >  > — The SNP (@theSNP) October 18, 2023 WESTMINSTER’S ENERGY STRATEGY IS INEFFICIENT AND OUTDATED The Tories’ privatised the UK’s energy

grid in the 1980’s and Scottish energy companies are charged ten times what English companies have to pay to connect to the grid. Your SNP Scottish Government recently licensed a huge

amount of offshore wind and the National Grid said it had no plans to connect most of this to the grid for at least a decade. Independent research by SSE found that storing renewable energy

in hydro-facilities to use for when people need it, could save UK bill-payers £690 million a year by 2050. The price of gas in the UK in October 2023 was roughly 60% higher than two years

ago, while the price of electricity is now roughly 40% higher. Westminster has held Scotland back, time and time again and it is continuing to do so. We have not been able to reap the

benefits of our own oil resources because Westminster strips us of the powers to utilise our energy. We have made vast developments in renewables and alike Scotland leading Europe in oil, we

can be a leading country in the net-zero transition through renewables. The current ScotWind offshore wind leasing round could raise up to £860 million for the public purse, showing  the

benefits that can come to Scotland from owning and developing our own natural resources. Your SNP Scottish Government is making efforts to alleviate the upheaval imposed on people’s lives by

Westminster. Ultimately, the path to real change involves becoming an independent country; Scotland has the energy, we just need the power, and our people deserve better than the ongoing

neglect from Westminster. > 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland has enormous energy wealth and > resources. >  > ⚡️ Around 2/3rds of Scotland’s electricity comes from > renewables. > 👷‍♀️ 

Scotland produces six times more gas than we consume. >  > ❌ Yet decades of failed Westminster policies mean families are > struggling to pay energy bills. 

pic.twitter.com/KoJFxwNiLS >  > — The SNP (@theSNP) November 29, 2023