Luke Pollard MP Labour & Co-op Member of Parliament for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport
Parliament returned this week and I’ve been voting on legislation that was included in the Labour manifesto. I’ve voted to bring railways back into public ownership and also voted to create Great British Energy. I am also happy that as a government we are taking steps to remove the last hereditary peers from the House of Lords – an accident of birth should not enable you to vote on laws in my view.
My colleagues and I are learning more each day about the dire state of inheritance from the last Tory government. The Chancellor has already set out the huge £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances the Tories chose not to tell Parliament, the public or the Office of Budget Responsibility. This means that – across government – we are having to take decisions we would prefer not to to balance the budget. We must never allow a government to trash our nation’s finances and not be honest with the public about it.
I know many people in Plymouth are understandably concerned about the difficult decision the government has had to take to target winter fuel payments only to the poorest pensioners who are on Pension Credit.
I wish we did not have to do this. I know these are tough choices and they are not choices we wanted to make or expected to make. But this decision is a necessary one, because the previous government made a series of unfunded spending commitments and left a £22bn black hole in the country’s finances this year which required immediate action.
Pensioners deserve to feel looked after by the state. That’s why the government is committed to protecting the triple lock on pensions over the lifetime of this parliament.
In addition, we are prioritising support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating, and we have announced this week that we will extend the Household Support Fund, providing £500m of targeted support for those in the greatest need. The right answer to high heating costs is to invest in renewables and energy independence not be reliant on the volatile high prices on the international gas market. We are doing this and investing in insulation schemes to drive down people’s energy use and bills. This is the right thing, but this will take time to deliver.
There are around 800,000 households across the UK are eligible for Pension Credit but are not currently claiming – that means there are thousands of people in Plymouth who could be getting more support than today. The poorest pensioners on pension credit will still receive winter fuel payments. I want to ensure that as many households as possible are able to access this support, so if your weekly current income is less than £218.15 for a single person, or £332.95 for a couple then please do contact Age UK Plymouth for a full benefits check on 01752 256020 or via email on advice@ageukplymouth.org.uk.
I am also supporting the brilliant work done by the Plymouth Energy Community who can offer you support with maximising your income and ensuring homes are as energy efficient as possible – if you would like me to put you in touch with them, please let me know via luke.pollard.mp@parliament.uk.
There were no easy options, but not acting is not an option. If no action had been taken to repair the Conservatives’ black hole then it would have put the UK’s financial stability at risk, possibly leading to higher prices, mortgages and rents. I know people are angry, I am too. I know folks will be rightly directing that anger not just at those who are clearing up the mess, but the last administration that created this mess and hid it from the public.
By taking the tough decisions now to protect the public finances we can begin the process of change. By providing economic stability, we can begin to attract the investment and growth our country desperately needs in order to fund our public services.