Raab under pressure over lack of action on cost of living crisis
Dominic Raab has come under pressure over the UK government’s failure to come up with policies to tackle the cost of living, while not ruling out higher defence spending.
The deputy prime minister was on Wednesday questioned on the government’s lack of big ideas to deal with the cost of living crisis and high inflation, after a cabinet brainstorming session came up with a string of minor policy tweaks.
Pressed on why he could not name any new policies, Raab told Times Radio: “What I would say is, in fairness, it’s quite right that cabinet discusses, thrashes through, these ideas and the subcommittees of cabinet do.
“I think … people expect us to test our policies very carefully, to thrash them through, and keep coming up with new ways to ease the pressure.”
Later in his broadcast round, Raab did not dismiss a call from Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, for Nato countries to look at higher defence spending in light of the war in Ukraine, after she suggested 2% of national income on defence should be a “a floor, not a ceiling”.
In Tuesday’s brainstorming cabinet, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, had suggested making MOTs on vehicles once every two years, saving about £40, while Boris Johnson backed proposals to let nursery staff look after more toddlers each to help bring down childcare costs. Other suggestions included cutting green levies on energy bills in spite of the UK’s net zero target, while Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, pushed for more tax cuts, backed by Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The government’s suggestions were criticised by Torsten Bell, director of the Resolution Foundation thinktank, who said it had “lost the plot” if it thought its ideas would make a substantial difference to people’s lives.
“Our problem is a
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