Stephen Morgan MP has said the Government’s Autumn Statement delivered in the House of Commons today, will do nothing to correct its appalling record on delivering for Portsmouth people.
It comes as the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement failed to offer solutions to thirteen years of Conservative economic failure that has left working people in Portsmouth worse off.
Mr Morgan said that while prices in the shops, energy bills and mortgages continue to rise, much more will need to be done to reverse the damage the Conservatives have done to the economy.
Latest inflation data showed food prices up by 10% compared to last year, with a rise of 30% over the past two years. Electricity and gas prices are also 40% and 60% higher respectively than they were two years ago, while the average household remortgaging faces a £220 month hike in repayments.
Households are also paying on average £4,000 more in tax each year than they did in 2010 – the result in part of 25 Tory tax rises since 2019 that have impacted Portsmouth people.
Mr Morgan said that Portsmouth people are better off under Labour, with disposable income having risen by more than 40% or more than £11,000 per person during the Labour years.
Labour’s Better off Plan to cut household bills would see households gaining up to £3,000 a year over the next decade, saving families:
- £500 a year by insulating homes to make them more energy efficient.
- £900 a year by building cheaper, cleaner power across the country through the creation of Great British Energy, a new, publicly-owned clean generation company.
- £400 a year by cracking down on unfair car insurance practices like subscription traps and unfair postcode pricing.
- £1,200 a year on mortgage bills by building 1.5 million homes over a Parliament to keep housing affordable.
Commenting on the Autumn Statement, Portsmouth MP Stephen Morgan said:
“With prices still rising in Portsmouth shops, energy bills up and mortgage payments higher than ever before, nothing the Chancellor said today can change the Conservative’s appalling record on the economy.
“This year’s Autumn Statement is just yet another episode of Tory Groundhog Day for Portsmouth with nothing to cut people’s bills and help local families.
“It has become even more clear today that Labour is the only party with a real plan to make working people in Portsmouth better off”.
The city MP has taken urgent and extensive action to lobby the Government to tackle the cost-of-living crisis facing Portsmouth people, including raising concerns to Ministers on the parliamentary floor, launching a campaign to cut energy bills and lower the cap, as well as hosting a cost-of-living themed Cuppa and Chat to enable constituent access to financial advice.
