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Fuel help frozen out
• IF your MP could help pass a Bill in Parliament which could save lives, help the poorest people in Britain, help in the fight against climate change and what’s more create jobs in a recession, don’t you think that would be worthwhile?
I do, and that’s why I backed the Fuel Poverty Bill introduced by Liberal Democrat MP David Heath.
With the spring weather we may forget the tragedy that 20,000 people needlessly die from cold each year, and many more become ill. Fuel prices have more than doubled over the last five years. Many homes are poorly insulated so that energy is wasted.
The Fuel Poverty Bill would end fuel poverty by 2016 by bringing all homes up to standard and cutting fuel bills for the poorest families.
It would mean fewer people face illness or death from cold and damp. It would help to reduce the wastage of energy which contributes to climate change. And it would produce work for thousands of people when we desperately need it. The Bill has been backed by many charities, including Help the Aged and Friends of the Earth.
I want to thank all readers who signed my petition supporting the Bill. I would have voted for the Bill, and I congratulate MPs from all parties (including Jeremy Corbyn) who did so. Sadly, I have to report that, despite their hard work, the Bill will not go forward, because it just missed getting the 100 votes needed.
I am totally disgusted with Emily Thornberry, the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, who did not bother to vote.
BRIDGET FOX
Lib Dem prospective parliamentary candidate,
Islington South and Finsbury
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