Tories don’t have an answer to the cost of living crisis, because they are the crisis

theguardian.com:

The coming weeks are decisive for the Conservatives – not just because of the frustrating wait for Sue Gray’s report on Downing Street parties.

As we head towards a spring of tax hikes and soaring prices, the prime minister and chancellor will come to a major crossroads in the cost of living crisis.

The truth is it couldn’t be a worse time for a government to be paralysed by its own drama.

For months, inflation has spiralled out of control. The cost of a weekly food shop is up. Gas and electricity bills are skyrocketing. Everyone is noticing the difference.

The government’s answer? Painfully whacking up national insurance contributions for working people and businesses.

To know how to fix this, you have to look at why we’re here. It’s partly down to disruption and extra red tape from the government’s patchwork Brexit deal, one that’s left businesses, workers and consumers facing shortages, delays and higher prices.

But it’s not just over the last year that Tory failures have taken hold. It’s over the last decade. Their incompetence and inability to plan over the last 11 years for shocks such as the global gas crisis have left us uniquely exposed, a reason many other countries are faring better than us.

It’s why last week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that the UK will grow at half the rate as the advanced economy average over this parliament.

The Conservative failure to regulate the energy market, their decision to close gas storage, their achingly slow progress on renewables, nuclear and insulating homes has left bills mounting to unbelievable levels.

There is much that could give immediate relief from this – measures Labour has called for over many months.

By cutting VAT on home energy bills and spreading some of