On Sunday, after a week spent with me in Parliament and across Burnley and Padiham, I saw Volodymyr Krydenko off when I dropped him at Heathrow airport. The friendship we forged last week was not just between two MPs from different countries but, I hope, between the two places each of us represent. And after dropping him at Heathrow it was on to Westminster for me.
Because of the war in Ukraine, the record inflation, and the increase in interest rates, households across our borough are struggling. Whilst energy bills are coming down, food bills and mortgage or rent payments are going up.
That’s why I’ve been engaging with the Chancellor & Work and Pensions Secretary to see what more can be done to help. The most direct thing we can do – and something I continue to argue for – is a reduction in income tax. We all recognise the difficult state of public finances, which is why we all accept this might need to be a slow trajectory rather than a big change. But moving to a lower tax position is good for business, good for jobs, and good for households.
But this also relies on having more people in work – something the DWP are pushing at pace. That means creating the incentives needed to get people off social security and into work – making sure that work always pays. And it means making sure childcare is affordable. This week a major step forward was taken on this, with low-earning parents on Universal Credit set to benefit from up to a £522 monthly boost to cover childcare costs – making it easier for them to get back into work.
And for those not on social security there are major childcare reforms already taking place, including an expansion of early years professionals, and free childcare for 2 year olds coming down to 9 month olds and above from next year.
To keep price rises on household bills down though, it’s vital that the supermarkets play their part. That was the theme of the Business Committee this week, on which I sit, where we brought in supermarket bosses. Whether it’s excessive minimum online order levels, poor choice of budget ranges in the smaller stores, or fuel prices not coming down fast enough – we held their feet to the fire and will be following up to make sure they act on their commitments.
So, a varied week as ever, but a clear focus on the cost of living in Burnley and Padiham.
