Protecting our communities from the cost of living, at home and abroad

From the petrol pump to the supermarket, to bills and Christmas time, the rising cost-of-living has been a phrase we not only see debated in Westminster but reminded to us in our day-to day lives all of the time.  Wars and the pandemic have given us years of high inflation and difficult-to-stomach prices. It is no wonder that for five straight years, time and again, voters have told pollsters this is their number one issue.

It could not be more pertinent at the moment. The US-Israeli war with Iran, the bombings across the region and the Strait of Hormuz standstill has sent the cost of oil soaring, and the cost of everything else rising in its wake. For the sake of not just the global economy but the countless innocent lives caught up in this geopolitical match, it needs to end immediately.

This is not our war. The Government’s real leadership in not following the US has proven to be a vital call. It has also given us much more authority and teeth doing de-escalatory work and calling on every power involved to put their arms down. While it continues, ordinary working people across the world are paying for it through higher prices. The fastest way out of this latest war-caused, cost-spike is for it to end today.

While it goes on, the Government is prioritising protecting the public from the cost of living as much as we can. We are putting Britain first on the world stage and defending our interests at home.

This spring major initiatives have come into play to make a real difference to pockets across our communities. Thanks to the removal of the two-child benefit cap, a fantastic 450,000 children will be brought out of poverty, including 1390 in my constituency. That is hundreds of households in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, moving above the poverty line – able to provide their kids food, heating, clothes, books and so on. It is a game-changer for the futures of so many children.

From the young to the young in spirit, close to 20,000 pensioners in my seat saw state pension incomings rise by nearly 5% in April. That is above inflation, as we continue to back the triple lock.

For workers, the minimum and national living wage both rose as well by up to £1500 a year. This is money to ensure that so many locally do not have to compromise between essentials, and our youngest workers can be paid what they are due and save for university and what lies ahead. Beyond this, Labour’s New Deal to make Work Pay now means that all works are entitled to opt of zero hours contracts, won’t be victim of fire and rehire and have day one rights to sick and parental leave. More money on the table, more rights, more financial security.

For parents, work has been done to alleviate the many costs that come with raising a child. First up, the Government has doubled the childcare allowance to 30 hours, saving families in Hitchin and the surrounding villages a huge £8000 a year. This has been making a massive difference for so many households. From childcare, to school, we have launched universal free breakfast clubs in all primary schools.  Three local schools, from Shefford to Arlesey, were on the pilot for this scheme and for nearly a year its students have been enjoying free, nutritious meals to start the deal. All told, the clubs are set to save families up to £500 a year.

The list of cost-of-living measures goes on and will continue. Rail fares up and down the country have been frozen. Rail users from Arlesey and Hitchin will not pay a higher fare than last year for the first time in 30 years. The costs of all prescriptions, so crucial to keeping us well and active day to day, have been frozen too, keeping them at £9.90. From freezing to fixing, the Government has pledged to fill seven million potholes this Parliament, increasing road safety and averting costs at the garage.

The cost-of-living crisis is so real because it affects the a to z of family budgets. That is why I appreciate everything we are doing will not mean we are anything close to all being on easy street. These measures are so significant though for making the cost-of-living that bit easier to manage.

As always, if anyone reading this piece would like support from my office on any cost-of-living issue my inbox is always open – alistair.strathern.mp@parliament.uk