SNP CANDIDATE for the Glenrothes by-election Peter Grant criticised the Labour government at Westminster for failing to act on soaring household bills, during a visit to the town’s Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) yesterday.

Mr Grant paid tribute to the work of staff and volunteers at the centre and heard how rising bills have seen a sharp increase in the number of people seeking money advice and help as they struggle to make ends meet.

“The staff and volunteers at the Citizens Advice Bureau do an extraordinary job and provide invaluable support for local residents,” said Mr Grant, who is also the leader of the SNP-Liberal Democrat administration on Fife Council.

“When people contact the Citizens Advice Bureau they often have nowhere left to turn, and the bureau can really help them sort things out.

“Clearly, the fact that more and more people are being forced to find help underlines just how much people are struggling to cope with soaring household bills.”

Mr Grant added, “People here are seeing banks being propped up and bailed out by the UK Government but little support to help them meet their energy bills this winter.

“It is clear from campaigning on doorsteps that local people feel left behind and forgotten about by Westminster and I want to take the message for action from the local high street to Downing Street.”

Mr Grant described the rising cost of energy as the “number one concern” and maintained the Labour government had also done little to compensate people who had lost out on the Farepak collapse two years ago.

“People on the doorsteps have also highlighted their anger—two years on—that they have not received a penny in compensation following the collapse of Farepak the Christmas savings club,” he added.

“Compensation for those hard-hit families would be a drop in the ocean compared to bailing out the banks, yet for hundreds of Fife families they again face the nightmare of Christmas past.

“The Farepak collapse happened because the government failed to secure adequate consumer protection through regulation, and there is still nothing on the statute book that would protect savers in the future.

“This by-election is the moment for people in Glenrothes to put the focus on family budgets and to force Westminster to deliver.”

Mr Grant was joined on the campaign trail by SNP MSP and minister for parliamentary business Bruce Crawford.

“The SNP and Scottish Government supported the measures to stabilise the financial sector and now we need real action to help local families as they try to balance household budgets,” Mr Crawford said.

“People in Glenrothes can speak for the whole of Scotland in three weeks’ time and demand the economic action Scotland needs to get us out of the Downing Street downturn.”