In Leeds NW there are 33,744 households
5890 of these are in fuel poverty – that’s over 1 in 6.
In Leeds NW there are 33,744 households
Since the last election Energy bills have increased for those households by an average of £300 a year. Bill rises this autumn could add another £100 on top of that.
Leeds NW is not alone.
Take Fuel Poverty in particular.
• Official figures published over the summer show that the fuel poverty gap – the gap between people’s bills and what they can afford – has increased by over £200 million in the last two years.
• At the same time as the Government has halved the budget to fight fuel poverty, the gap for people in fuel poverty between their bills and what they can afford has increased to nearly £500.
• The over-75s are the most likely to live in homes with poor energy efficiency, most vulnerable to the cold weather, and least likely to switch supplier, so they often pay more than they need to.
Fuel Poverty is no joke – here or anywhere else.
This Government’s failure to get tough with the energy companies is pushing millions of people even deeper into fuel poverty.
The Labour Party is determined to tackle it – just as it is determined to tackle energy costs in general.
Labour has called, for example, for all over-75s to be put on the cheapest tariff.
And it’s raising these issues whenever and wherever it can.
Just last Wednesday evening, in the House of Lords, the Labour peer Lord Whitty moved an amendment to the Energy Bill. The amendment was aimed at getting Fuel poverty taken seriously as something which had to be considered in questions of energy policy.
As Lord Whitty put it
‘ to make sure that fuel poverty is up there with the other objectives of energy policy’
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition (EFPC) – an alliance of over 50 organisations including Age UK, Save the Children, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, National Energy Action, Friends of the Earth, Association for the Conservation of Energy and Consumer Futures – backed the Labour amendments
‘the current UK government plans for energy efficiency are woefully inadequate to deal with the scale of the fuel poverty problem.’
Yet on Wednesday evening ALL the Tories and ALL the LibDems present in the House of Lords voted against.
The Coalition just doesn’t get it. They don’t seem to realise just how much people are suffering. Until the Coalition gets tough on the energy companies, they’ll go on suffering.
In Leeds NW there are 33,744 households
ALL those households would save £120 from Labour’s proposed energy price freeze.
Today the Labour Party nationally is campaigning about Energy Costs.
There will be street stalls in Leeds NW at
Yeadon Town St – 10 a.m.
Otley Marketplace – 10 a.m.
Headingley Arndale Centre – 10.30 a.m.
Holt Park from 12.30 to 1.30 p.m. – Rachel Reeves will be there for part of that time.
Alex Sobel will be in Headingley and at Holt Park
Come along and sign Labour’s petition.
Or if you can’t make it – sign it on line
http://action.labour.org.uk/page/s/david-cameron-freezethatbill-b
And Remember –
Britain Can Do Better Than This – and it will with a Labour Government
Leeds North West Constituency 