Liz Jarvis MP urges Government for cost of living package in Budget to give Eastleigh families 'breathing space'

• The package includes calls for an Essential Energy Guarantee that would cut the average household energy bill in Eastleigh by £100 a year, as well as a 10p cut in fuel duty, cuts to rail and bus fares, and a temporary 5p VAT cut on hospitality.
• The full plans would provide breathing space for the next 18 months, at a total cost of £14bn over the next year and a half, fully funded through a windfall tax on the big banks, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and extra oil and gas revenues caused by Trumpflation.

A cost of living support package would give families in Eastleigh breathing space, Liz Jarvis MP has said.

Liz Jarvis MP says households risk being left unprotected against a sequence of rising bills as key pieces of temporary Government support are set to expire by the spring, alongside an increase in January to the energy price cap.

According to House of Commons Library data, 7.2 % of local households in Eastleigh are in fuel poverty, struggling to afford their most basic energy needs.

To protect household budgets, the Liberal Democrats are urging the Chancellor to bring forward an emergency package to provide breathing space for the next 18 months, at a total cost of £14bn over the next year and a half, fully funded through a windfall tax on the big banks, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and extra oil and gas revenues caused by Trumpflation. The three-point plan includes:

• An Essential Energy Guarantee to cut average annual bills by £100. Every household would receive a basic energy allowance, equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption, at a discounted rate, with extra allowances for children and the discounted rate on all energy use for disabled people and those on the lowest incomes. The poorest 20% would save an average of £140.
• An emergency transport package cutting fuel duty by 10p (bringing down prices at the pump by 12p per litre), slashing bus fares to £1 from the current £3 cap, cutting rail fares by 10%, and making it cheaper to drive electric vehicles by cutting VAT on public charging and reviewing unfair network costs.
• A temporary VAT cut for hospitality, accommodation and attractions, to rescue struggling high streets far beyond the Government's limited £150 million fund for music venues and pubs. The party also calls for an overhaul of the broken business rates system and for the National Insurance Contribution (NIC) hike to be abandoned.

The party warned that the OBR’s living standards forecast will set a definitive test that Chancellor John Healey will either pass or fail on 28 October.

The package would be fully funded without extra borrowing or permanent tax rises, through a windfall tax on banking profits related to the quantitative easing programme, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and recycling the extra oil and gas revenues triggered by “Trumpflation”.

Liz Jarvis, MP for Eastleigh, has said:

"Family finances in Eastleigh are a ticking time bomb. A cost of living support package would give families breathing space, as 2,932 households in our area are already worried every day about keeping their homes warm.

"People cannot afford another Budget of timid half-measures. The Chancellor must act with an emergency cost of living package, starting with an Essential Energy Guarantee. The government must also cut energy costs by decoupling the price of gas and electricity. Last week I spoke in the chamber urging the government to address this longstanding problem, which is adding to the energy poverty we see here in Eastleigh.

“The Liberal Democrats plans would ensure nobody has to choose between heating and eating and put cash back into people’s packers in Eastleigh.”