I share everyone’s concerns about the Cost-of-Living crisis that is emerging.
Wages are already not keeping up with inflation and are likely to remain stagnant through to 2026. That means that real wages will be lower in 2026 than they were in 2008 – we have now had nearly two decades of lost wage growth.
I signed EDM 1049 a week ago on the Cost of living, which you can see here:
https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/59554
I am supporting trade union action to improve pay and conditions. Collective organising via trade unions is very powerful as recent gains where NHS workers were brought back in-house from Serco shows.
The situation is very serious for so many people. We face the awful impact of rising household energy bills, which are set to increase by 54% because of this pandemic, from April 2022, and which will drive more people into destitution. And of course, the fallout from the crisis in Ukraine is likely to make this significantly worse.
I am also very concerned that the global energy price rises will mean higher food prices and that the energy and food problem will start spiralling out of control.
I was elected on a manifesto that committed to “ensure that everyone in the UK has a Right to Food by enshrining it in UK law, in a new Fair Food Act”. I have also been campaigning for a wealth tax for many years to pay for our NHS and services.
Energy must be re-nationalised so that profits can be re-invested in transitioning to renewables, and to stop the UK exporting gas, though the Ukraine crisis may well put a stop to that anyway, and I continue to push for re-nationalisation in and out of Parliament.
In this week’s Spring budget, the Chancellor simply must take the seriousness of the situation on board. I will continue to speak out in Parliament and beyond, and will of course vote for food security, Universal Credit increases, dropping the cruel National Insurance rise, and energy re-nationalisation.
