Andrew Dismore

Hendon MP  Matthew Offord  has snubbed the opportunity to help local people keep warm in winter by voting down amendments to the Energy Bill in the House of Commons.

The Conservative led Government’s Bill aims to water down commitments on fuel poverty by removing a requirement to ‘eradicate’ it and replacing it with a duty to ‘address’ it.

More than one in five households in the UK are now ‘fuel poor’ – meaning they can’t afford to keep their homes adequately warm.

Despite this shocking statistic and recent huge rises in energy bills, Conservative  and Lib Dem MPs including Mr Offord voted to remove the duty to resolve the problem.

Andrew Dismore, Labour candidate for Hendon said:

“It is absolutely disgraceful that Mr Offord should put the demands of the Conservative Party ahead of the needs of the people of Hendon.

Fuel poverty has become an issue of national importance. In every corner of the country, families are choosing between putting bread on the table and turning on the heating.  Even more shockingly, there are 1.6 million fuel poor children in the UK, who will wake up on Christmas Day in a home that is so cold it presents a danger to their health. The Conservatives  talk of tackling fuel poverty but actions speak louder than words.

Mr Offord  voted against the amendment that would have made sure this and future governments had a duty to eradicate this growing problem.”

Labour Leader Ed Miliband has already pledged to freeze energy prices if Labour are elected at the next General Election.

Andrew Dismore added:

“By proposing to  reinstate the duty to end fuel poverty, Labour has shown that it is the only party willing to tackle this appalling  problem with the seriousness it deserves.  Mr Offord should be ashamed of himself for voting it down.”