SNP politician criticises ‘pomp’ of King’s speech amid cost of living crisis

Scottish National Party MP Kirsty Blackman criticised the “pomp” of Tuesday’s State Opening of Parliament amid the cost of living crisis.

Appearing on the BBC to discuss King Charles III’s first delivery to parliament as monarch, Ms Blackman questioned if all the “sapphires and rubies” on display were the “right image that anybody wants to be to be seeing”.

“People are sitting at home unable to pay their electricity bills and they’re sitting at home trying to work out how they are getting to the next week,” she said.

“And then you see all of this pomp and ceremony, you hear about these sapphires and rubies, and it just feels so far removed from the daily lives and the daily struggles that so many people are going through.”