Lib Dem MPs call for all party campaign
Following news that Chancellor Gordon Brown is to investigate water poverty in the South West; Westcountry Lib Dem MPs have called for all South West MPs to join together to make the case for action to the Chancellor.
The South West is burdened with the highest water bills in the country, with average un-metered bills set to hit £700 a year by 2010. The Government has already set a cap on water bills in Northern Ireland – another area billed for the clean-up cost of its extensive coastline – but recently ruled out any such deal in the Westcountry, despite South West bills being substantially higher than in Northern Ireland.
Lib Dem MPs believe that if all South West MPs join together there is a genuine opportunity to find a solution to high water bills. They have written to Gordon Brown, requesting he meet the region’s MPs, to receive evidence of constituents’ hardship.
Dan Rogerson MP, who chairs the Lib Dem South West Team of MPs, said:
"People paying the highest water bills in the country aren't interested in Party politics – they just want a fair deal from the Government. By joining together to present the case to the Chancellor, South West MPs have the best chance to get action."
Julia Goldsworthy has initiated the proposed all-Party campaign. The Lib Dems’ new Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury said:
"With Northern Ireland getting help to cut water bills, there is no excuse for Gordon Brown to ignore the South West. All the MPs in the region, irrespective of Party, know this is a huge burden on this low paid region."
Nick Harvey MP (North Devon) added his support to the proposal:
"The Environment Minister, Elliot Morley keeps claiming that nothing can be done to ease the burden of water bills for customers in the South West. Yet water bills have been cut in Northern Ireland at the UK taxpayers' expense. Now the Chancellor has taken an interest anything becomes possible, provided the region’s MPs work together."
