Stephen Morgan MP has today responded to the King’s Speech on the floor of the House of Commons, setting out the changes Portsmouth people need and deserve which were not prioritised by the Government in the King’s Speech.
The City MP used the opportunity to highlight the choice facing people in Portsmouth and across the country – a failed Conservative Party, or a changed Labour Party which has a plan to rebuild Britain and our public services.
Mr Morgan argued that after a decade of Conservative government Portsmouth people are facing serious challenges with sky-rocketing mortgages, rising rents, soaring bills, and taxes at their highest for 70 years.
It comes as the Trussell Trust report that there has been a 68% rise in the number of emergency food parcels delivered to Portsmouth people over the last year, which Mr Morgan noted to be evidence that life is getting harder, not easier, for ordinary people.
Meanwhile, the Portsmouth MP said 90% of crimes have continued to go unsolved, 1 in 7 people across the country are waiting for NHS treatment, schools and hospitals are crumbling, and there are the highest levels of illegal sewage discharges in our history.
Mr Morgan slammed the Government for its failure to recognise these challenges and failure to bring forward relevant solutions, highlighting that:
- During the worst energy bills crisis in generations, their flagship energy policy won’t even take a penny off Portsmouth people’s energy bills
- Under this Government sewage will continue to pollute Portsmouth’s precious environment
- There was nothing to address the fact that there is only one dentist and GP for every 2,300 people in Portsmouth, the result of the Government’s indifference to caring for our NHS
- The speech contained no commitments to put bobbies back on the beat, or tackle the rise in shoplifting to ensure safety on Portsmouth’s streets
- There was no commitment to take on the attainment gaps that are established in the early part of the education system and prevent all children in Portsmouth from succeeding and thriving
Following his contribution in the Chamber, commenting Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan said:
“The Prime Minister was right to say in his speech that the country needs a change, but if the people of Portsmouth needed any more evidence that this change won’t come through a 5th Tory term – this King’s Speech provided it.
The Government is simply out of touch with the challenges people up and down the country are facing.
Only Labour has a credible plan to generate economic growth, safer streets, cheaper homegrown British power, better opportunities, and a rejuvenated NHS will get Portsmouth and Britain its future back.”
