Lack of Tory support causes Fuel Poverty Bill to fall (Wokingham Liberal Democrats)

Wokingham Liberal Democrats <info@wokinghamlibdems.org.uk>

Lack of Tory support causes Fuel Poverty Bill to fall

March 22, 2009 12:00 PM

Liberal Democrats in Wokingham have criticised Conservative MP John Redwood after a Private Members' Bill to tackle fuel poverty, officially supported by his party, fell because too few Conservative MPs turned up to vote the bill through.

The Fuel Poverty Bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat MP David Heath and backed by major charities, proposed steps to make homes more energy-efficient. The Bill would have forced energy companies to offer their lowest tariffs to the most vulnerable households, but was rejected in its second reading in the House of Commons last week. It needed 100 votes to proceed, but only 89 MPs turned up to support it. The MP for Wokingham failed to appear, alongside nine out of ten of his Conservative colleagues - in spite of his party 'officially' backing the Bill.

Lib Dem parliamentary campaigner Cllr Prue Bray said "Although Wokingham is on the face of it an affluent area, there are more than 5,000 households in the constituency living in fuel poverty, who badly needed this bill. Before the debate in parliament I contacted John Redwood to urge him to support it. He told me that the Conservatives wanted the bill to get a second reading - but it seems they did not want it enough to bother to turn up to vote. The Tories say they care about the vulnerable, but once again they have failed to turn their words into deeds. It simply isn't good enough for those thousands of people locally who will now have to continue struggling with the choice between staying warm and having enough to eat."

Note: 45 Liberal Democrat MPs turned up to back the bill. Only 20 Conservative MPs - one in ten of their number in Parliament - voted for the Bill on Friday, in spite of so-called 'official' Conservative support.

The Bill is backed by groups including:

Age Concern
Help the Aged
Child Poverty Action Group
Disability Alliance
Friends of the Earth
Centre for Sustainable Energy
Sustainable Energy Partnership
UNISON

A full breakdown of fuel poverty figures by (old) constituency can be found at: http://www.consumerfocus.org.uk/en/Default.aspx?n1=30&n2=406. According to their figures some 5,286 households in Wokingham (more than one in seven of all households) are in fuel poverty.