Stephen Morgan MP is set to vote in the House of Commons today to force the Government to set out its plan to tackle soaring prices and hunger in Portsmouth and across the country.
Jim McMahon MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, will use an opposition day debate in Parliament today to urge the government to focus its efforts on fixing the increasing squeeze on households rather than saving the Prime Minister’s job.
It comes as millions feel the crunch across Britain, with families facing hiked taxes, soaring energy bills and rising inflation.
According to the latest government data, 28.4% of pupils in Portsmouth are eligible for free school meals – nearly 10% higher than the national average at 19.7%.
Labour’s motion will note MPs’ concerns over “households bracing themselves for the biggest drop in living standards in thirty years; that the cost-of-living crisis includes steep price increases in everyday and essential food items, making the situation worse for the 4.7 million adults and 2.5 million children already living in food insecurity and risking more people experiencing food insecurity”.
Labour will also say the Government is “making the cost-of-living crisis worse through tax hikes, low growth, falling real wages, and a failure to tackle the energy crisis” and will urge ministers to set out a national strategy for food, including how it intends to ensure access to high quality, sustainable, affordable food for all and meet the United Nations goal to end hunger by 2030.
The Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, said:
“Thanks to the abject failure of the Conservative government, far too many working families in Portsmouth are trapped on low wages with little financial wriggle room.
“Labour’s plan to keep bills low would cut £200 off most household energy bills, with £600 in total going to those households who need it most – cancelling out almost the entire rise in energy prices.
“The next Labour government would support British business to bolster sustainability and affordability of good quality food as part of our contract to deliver security, prosperity and respect for the British people.”
