First town in country declares ‘Cost of Living Emergency’
Eastbourne has become the first town in the country to declare a 'Cost of Living Emergency' in the face of rising energy bills and prices. Remember if it has happned in Sussex, it could happen in Wiltshire. The Liberal Democrat run council will make the emergency declaration at a meeting of Eastbourne Borough Council tonight (Wednesday 18th May). The declaration will come after new data from the Trussell Trust highlighted that Eastbourne Foodbank was the busiest in the country in 2021/22, with more food parcels distributed per head than any other Foodbank in the UK. The emergency motion, put forward by Eastbourne councillor and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate Josh Babarinde OBE, also called on the Government to enact further measures to support struggling families. These include an immediate Windfall Tax on oil and gas companies to reduce bills, immediately restoring the pensions triple lock and immediately cutting VAT by 2.5% for a year to reduce prices. Eastbourne Liberal Democrat councillor and Parliamentary Candidate Josh Babarinde OBE said: "This is a wake-up call for Boris Johnson. I cannot stand idly by while my hometown of Eastbourne is among the hardest hit, which is why I have called for the Government and our Conservative MP to act right now. "The Conservative Government's failure to tackle the rising cost of living has shamefully allowed this crisis to become an emergency. "We need taxes slashed, a Windfall Tax on oil companies to help people heat their homes, and the triple-lock pension protected. Instead, we are seeing taxes go up and oil companies allowed to make billions off the backs of families and pensioners. "Eastbourne needs help and I am determined to do all I can to secure that. It is time Boris Johnson stopped sleepwalking through this cost of living emergency." NOTES TO EDITORS Cost of Living Emergency motion This Council notes that: · On 1 April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap by 54% · In light of the increased energy price cap, the average standard tariff energy bill will increase by £693 per year. The average pre-pay meter energy bill will increase by £708 per year (Ofgem, 2022) · On 6 April 2022, the Government increased National Insurance by 1.25 percentage points, which is projected to cost the average Eastbourne family an additional £108 per year · The Government has suspended the pensions 'triple lock' for 2022/3, meaning that Eastbourne's 25,806 pensioners will see a rise of 3.1% this year (instead of 8.3% under the triple lock formula). This year, this will cost an Eastbournian on the full new state pension an average of £487, and an Eastbournian on the full basic state pension and average of £373 (TUC, 2022) · In 2021/22 Eastbourne Foodbank distributed food parcels at a rate of 17,440 per 100,000 people, the highest rate in the country (Trussell Trust, 2022) This Council therefore declares a 'Cost of Living Emergency' and calls on the Government to: 1. Immediately impose a 'Windfall Tax' on the super profits of oil and gas companies and use this to take an average of £600 off Eastbournians' energy bills this year 2. Immediately reduce the standard rate of VAT from 20% to 17.5% for one year, saving the average Eastbourne household a further £600 this year 3. Immediately re-introduce the pensions triple lock to support Eastbourne's pensioners"
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