So many people across Rye and our surrounding villages are understandably worried about how they are going to make ends meet this winter. I know so many of our brilliant community and church groups are working tirelessly to support our community, but I hear from so many people they are worried sick about how they’ll pay the bills now, let alone when the next energy bills hike in October comes. From one month to the next, there just isn’t enough to get to the next pay day and everything from food to energy is going up.
Labour wouldn’t let people pay a penny more on their winter fuel bills. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have put forward a fully-funded £29bn plan that would freeze energy bills for all domestic energy customers, increase the windfall tax on the oil and gas producers, and create new jobs by insulating nineteen million homes.
These plans would prevent the energy price cap rising through the winter, and they would be paid for by an extra tax on oil and gas giants who are making eye-watering profits. This would save the typical family in Rye £1,000 now, help get energy costs under control for the future and also reduce inflation. Freezing the price cap will bring inflation down by 4%, making future interest rate rises less likely and easing the burden on households and our local businesses.
This crisis is particularly acute for many of our local rural communities. Our Labour plan will also benefit all off-grid homes as equally as others, saving many families across rural Rother communities money off their energy bill. Off-grid residents in places like Guestling Green have faced rocketing fuel costs due to the sharp rise in cost of heating oil, but were controversially completely forgotten from the government’s announcements this year.
The bold and fully-funded emergency package we have announced would also reduce energy demand, lower bills and emissions in the longer term, and create new jobs by insulating homes across the country. We originally urged the government to implement this plan a year ago. Insulating our homes is key to lowering bills while also tackling our climate emergency by lowering emissions. If they’d acted, they could have insulated two million of the coldest homes by this winter – but action has been too slow.
Worryingly, this Tory government are asleep at the wheel and the two candidates for prime minister have no plan to address the scale of this crisis. Our Conservative MP is out rallying support for Rishi Sunak while people struggle. Only Labour can give Britain the fresh start that it needs.
Our existing policies would also secure our energy supply to make sure we’re protected against future shocks and build Britain’s energy independence. Labour would stop bills rising now, and create sustainable energy for the future – helping people get through the winter while providing the foundations for a stronger, more secure and greener economy.
I know that the coming months are likely to be very difficult for so many in our community. I will be out regularly speaking to residents on your street or high street, so do come and share your experiences if you see me or get in touch.
Helena Dollimore is Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Hastings and Rye
www.helenadollimore.com.
Image Credits: Geoff Wilson .
It is so reassuring to see such a well thought out response to the energy crisis and one that reflects, as Helena points out the existing direction Labour was already heading down with the plan to insulate homes from before the current crisis. I hadn’t realised rural communities relying on oil heating had been left out of plans by the current government, what a slap in the face. Helena has been really visible locally, done some great research on ambulance waiting times and is really building her credibility as a candidate able to represent all sections of our community. I look forward to hearing more!
Thank you Rye News for including perspectives other than that of our MP, Sally Ann Howe. Good to hear from all the parties on an ongoing basis. Another pressing issue is the deteriorating quality of our rivers and beaches. The UK is dropping to the bottom of the European league table on recreational water quality. What’s Labour’s plan to counteract this crisis?
I don’t believe our MP played Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang! Surely you mean Sally Ann HART…?
Yes indeed. Thanks for the correction
According to Full Fact, Labour’s plan doesn’t quite add up in terms of funding:
https://fullfact.org/economy/labour-energy-bills-plan/
Great to hear from forward thinking, positive politician, a breath of fresh air
This is a global energy crisis (mainly gas) with not enough supply to meet demand. A shortage of energy can only be met with lower demand – insulation would help here – and increased supply. There seems to be no analysis here as how to increase gas supply and resilience? And it is gas that’s the issue here. Only 20pc of UK energy consumption is power from renewables and nuclear (no mention of this) only touch the edges. Should Labour support more north sea production (windfall tax wont help this)? fracking? Gas storage? This would reduce higher carbon gas imports and provide security of supply. What’s Labour policy on increasing supply and cutting dependency on potentially unreliable countries?
From National Grid
“2020 marked the first year in the UK’s history that electricity came predominantly from renewable energy, with 43% of our power coming from a mix of wind, solar, bioenergy and hydroelectric sources.”
https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/how-much-uks-energy-renewable
Looks good expressed as an annual percentage. Not so good on days with little wind or no sun.
I am fairly confident that Helena Dollimore will work hard to gain the seat in the next election and she seems to be an excellent choice to achieve that ambition. However, as welcome as any ambitious candidate is, her every action and utterance should be monitored by electors and other interested parties, both before and after an election, assuming she is successful. Rye deserves a proactive MP and success for Ms Dollimore is within her grasp.
As someone who remembers Rye as a “rotten borough” fifty years ago, all current electors should welcome the prospect of change, and I mean no disrespect to Sally-Ann Hart is saying that.
I am pleased to see that Helen is also active in campaigning for improvement in ambulance waiting times. We have one of the worst records here in Hastings and Rye.
It’s not good enough to keep laying the blame for cuts in NHS services on covid, staff shortages, or people failing to turn up for appointments. One thing is certain, we have failed to train doctors, dentists and other medical professionals for many years. Good luck Helen.
As somebody who remembers Rye 50 years ago,I cannot remember it being a rotten borough, we had our own tradesmen,especially repairing the cobbles,our dustman were local and put our bins back where they found them,on our drives,and not left on our pavements, bring back the borough council I say,much better than the rotten Rother Council.
‘Rotten borough’ is not a comment on the local council here 50 years ago:it’s an allusion to historical pre-Reform Acts parliamentary constituencies with very few electors.
Note my use of quotation marks, think back to the era of Sir Bryant Godman Irving (admittedly about seventy years ago) and think also of the absence of political representation of the masses in Rye during that era. I hope that one day someone will write a book on the subject.
To many chief executives hiving off mega salaries is my argument, I can’t see why they have to be paid so much, unless I’m missing something!!
Good luck to Helena, sadly Hastingsand Rye have not had a labour mp, since Michael Foster, who served the people well, whatever has gone wrong?
Its fair enough to come up with these ideas but unfortunately what will happen to them in the next two years before another General Election. The problem which is being talked about is now not years in the future and the so called answer is being given by a party not in power and if it is so easy why is the party in power not utilising the idea or is it just party politics which can be banded about in hindsight this is what we would have done when the next General Election is due.