stouravonmagazine.co.uk
10 New Stour & Avon, August 12, 2022
Political round-up
Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher
Government tackles BCP’s ‘dodgy deal’ It is always gratifying when the Government listens to MPs who raise policy concerns affecting their constituents. It is even better when the Government takes decisive action in response. It was, therefore, with delight that I welcomed the emergency ban brought in by the Government to prevent BCP Council pursuing its intended ‘dodgy deal’ to sell its portfolio of beach huts. The sale would not have been an open market one but a closed sale to a newlyformed, council-controlled company euphemistically described as a ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’. I had asked the Government back in June to prevent the sale and was told by the then Local Government Minister, Kemi Badenoch, that local authorities must act ‘within the intent and spirit’ of the freedoms given to them
Christchurch & East Dorset CHRIS CHOPE MP by the Government with a warning that further action would be considered. Kemi Badenoch, a rising star in the Conservative Party, as confirmed by her performance in the leadership campaign, clearly understood the issue. Sadly, BCP Council ignored her clear warning and is now having to face up to the
consequences of having a key policy blocked because it would neither have increased efficiency nor delivered future savings as required. The £400 payment to each and every household to help with the additional costs of fuel will be paid in six equal monthly instalments from October. That announcement, however, made no reference to those households living in residential park homes of which there are several thousand in Dorset and more than 100,000 nationwide. As Chairman of the AllParty Parliamentary Group for Park Homes, I have continued to raise this issue with the Government. The Energy Minister told me in May that although customers living in park homes where the supply is delivered through the site owner would not be eligible for the scheme, the
Government was exploring options for other ways in which such households might receive the support. Most recently I asked the Secretary of State for Business and Energy Strategy, Kwarsi Kwarteng, whether he can guarantee that each of these households will receive the energy bill rebate. He said, ‘We have had the consultation and we will come up with a response that ensures that Christchurch constituents get a fair deal on this issue’. As the response fell short of the guarantee for which I was asking, I have now written back to the Secretary of State seeking further clarity and assurance. If second home owners are going to be able to receive £400 in respect of each of their homes, it would be grossly unjust if park home residents were to miss out. Watch this space!
Inflation prediction is truly terrifying A winter of discontent approaches. The Bank of England’s forecast of 13% inflation is truly terrifying. The average energy bill will reach £3,600 in October, before exceeding £4,000 in the new year. I must advise against these ‘don’t pay’ your utility bill campaigns. This is not the poll tax. Not paying will drag down your credit rating, have the bailiffs at your door and worst of all see you disconnected mid-winter. What readers might want to know though is that you will still benefit from the protection of the energy price cap if you cancel your direct debit and chose to pay in arrears instead. Do this with caution though as budgeting will be harder – particularly if you don’t have a smart meter. Heating oil prices also remain stubbornly high, despite crude oil prices declining. And what of government
action on the energy crisis? Next month, we will have a new prime minister – most probably Liz Truss. The fourth Tory leader in six years. Having presented herself to the Tory membership as the continuityJohnson candidate, she’ll attempt the deranged pivot of blaming some alien, previous administration - of which she was part - for the structure of the energy market. The one-upmanship of the candidates’ tax relief measures has distracted from some of the toxic elements of the contest. Remember Penny Mordaunt? Once the front runner, until Truss’s semi-hysterical Mail allies launched day after day of bilious personal attacks on her, for – heaven forbid – having expressed an open mind on gender self-identification. Once eliminated, poor Penny then publicly demeaned herself by backing Truss in an attempt no doubt to ensure herself
Dorset Labour GREG WILLIAMS of a cabinet job. And what of East Dorset’s Christopher Chope? In these very pages, he rails against ‘underperformance’ of civil servants, blaming the ‘current chaos’ of bed blocking on them. He’s right to highlight the problem, but wrong to pile the blame on NHS staff. His party has had 12 years in government to bring forward a
plan for integrated health and social care, which would reduce discharge delays. They have failed. The next Tory leader also looks set to scrap the ‘health and social care levy’ which was supposed to provide the funds necessary to help resolve the social care crisis. The natural party of government? More a party that has awkwardly gone on too long. As an alternative, Labour may still have its challenges. Its difficulty in supporting workers who need a pay rise whilst simultaneously being critical of the breakdowns in negotiations that lead to strikes remains. But at least Labour looks increasingly like a government in waiting under Starmer’s leadership. As the conference season approaches, I look forward to seeing the policies that members across the country have been working on make their way to the fore.
