INFLATION will soon hit 11% this year. It’s already at 9%. The pound is now worth a few pence more than the euro, making holidays abroad more expensive for those who can afford them. 

Energy costs are expected to rise again by 46% in October, meaning average household fuel bills will have more than doubled from £1277 to £2880 in the space of 12 months.

A summer of discontent is brewing. 

Industrial action is underway by workers at Network Rail and private rail franchises. British railways make healthy profits for shareholders. 
Staff are understandably opposing proposals to cut pay for worse terms and conditions of employment. 

The response of UK ministers has been to pitch the travelling public against rail workers – the so called “wedge issue” approach – where you villainise and scapegoat a minority group. 

It worked for the Tories during the Brexit referendum, where immigrants were falsely claimed to be the problem. We now have labour shortages in many areas due to a lack of migrant workers and an economy that is tanking because of the folly of Brexit.  

Other workers likely to take industrial action this summer include postal workers, British Airways staff and criminal defence barristers in England. 

The picture isn’t rosy in Scotland. There is every possibility of strike action by teachers, NHS staff, local government workers and legal aid lawyers. 
While police officers can’t strike, they aren’t happy with their pay offer from the Scottish Government.

The Prime Minister’s attempt to demonise rail workers hasn’t worked. 

I think it has backfired because the public are in the same boat trying to make ends meet. 

No-one supports cutting pay and conditions during a cost-of-living emergency – and if you’re in a trade union you can fight your corner. 

Boris Johnson doesn’t get this because he is an increasingly out-of-touch, disconnected, untrustworthy fantasist. 

Speaking to reporters from Rwanda, Johnson sought to rubbish strike action by claiming train drivers were on £59,000. Train drivers are members of the Aslef union and aren’t on strike – it’s RMT union members with an average pay of £33,000, although many workers earn considerably less.

The Prime Minister’s biggest domestic woes include how to get cronies to pay for his reported wish to build a £150,000 treehouse for his son at Chequers. 
Over the weekend, Mr Johnson told the media of his plans to remain in office until well into the 2030s. 

The fact he has now become a toxic brand for the Conservative Party appears to have escaped his attention.

Tomorrow the Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Bill will undergo its final stage before the Scottish Parliament. Govan Law Centre has been assisting Scottish Labour MSP Mercedes Villalba with her bill amendment for a rent freeze for private renters until December 31, 2024.

There is much the Scottish Parliament can do to help Scots with the cost-of-living emergency but so far there appears to be little appetite to use devolved powers. 

No doubt claims will be made tomorrow as to why we can’t help private renters now and need to wait another four or five years. Allow me to tackle the myths likely to be deployed.

A blanket rent freeze would be subject to a human rights challenge – Ms Villalba’s amendment includes a right of appeal by landlords where a rent freeze would cause severe financial hardship; it also makes provision for ministers to make further exemptions. It is entirely consistent with ECHR case law and strikes a fair balance as a short-term solution to mitigate a cost-of-living emergency for those in need.

A human rights challenge would jeopardise the entire bill – Under the Scotland Act if a bill obtains Royal Assent it is the law of the land. A private individual or company could challenge a provision in the Court of Session but that does not jeopardise the entire legislation – the challenge would be against a single provision.

A rent freeze would result in a dramatic rise in evictions to reset rents – There is no eviction ground in Scots law to end a tenancy in order to re-let to a new tenant. To do so would be wrongful termination with a penalty of up to six months’ rent or damages for unlawful eviction. Such unlawful behaviour could also affect a person’s registration as a private landlord. 

We already have rent adjudication – Our existing fair rents legislation was introduced in 1965 and is based on an “open market rent”. It provides no meaningful tenant protection in a cost-of-living crisis; prices go up and open market rents go up. Tough luck.

We have an opportunity to help financially vulnerable private renters tomorrow. Or we can do 
nothing.