Opponents say the Prime Minister has to stop the plans going ahead
The Prime Minister has been urged to abandon proposals to “hammer” households by pushing passport prices beyond £100. The SNP said Sir Keir Starmer must not permit inflation-busting price increases to proceed whilst the cost of living continues to rise.
Under the proposals, the application fee for an online passport would climb from £94.50 to £102 for an adult and £61.50 to £66.50 for a child – an 8% increase. Adults applying by post would experience fees rising from £107 to £115.50 whilst the charge for a child would grow from £74 to £80.
The measures will take effect on 8 April if Parliament grants approval, and the SNP confirmed it would oppose the proposals. The Home Office, which is Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has ultimate control over, has stated the plans would ensure the system’s costs depend less heavily on taxpayers.
Research by the House of Commons Library, commissioned by the SNP, reveals the price of a standard UK adult passport by post will have risen by 542% since 1997, from £18 to £115.50. Meanwhile, the price of a child’s passport by post will have climbed by 627% since 1999 – up from £11 to £80.
During the same timeframe, the research demonstrates wages have only grown by 144%. Had prices instead risen in line with inflation, an adult passport would cost just £33.36 from April and a children’s passport would be £21.60, according to the research. The SNP stated Labour’s fee increase would result in a family of four being charged up to £391 to buy two adult and two children’s passports – roughly equivalent to an entire week’s salary for someone earning the minimum wage.
Mr Wishart, the party’s MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, said: “The Labour Party must not hammer families with another massive, inflation-busting hike in passport fees when the cost of living is already soaring on Keir Starmer’s watch.
“Under the Labour Government, energy bills are £500 higher than promised, food and fuel prices have gone through the roof, mortgage rates are rising again, UK unemployment is at a five-year high and hard-pressed families are already struggling to get by.
“Keir Starmer is completely out of touch if he thinks households want him to press ahead with more tone-deaf Labour Party price hikes, which will increase the cost of a family holiday and make it more expensive for Scotland fans to travel to the World Cup this summer. The SNP will vote against this unacceptable price hike.”
The UK Government has been contacted for a response.
