How you can help a vital Bill get through Parliament

Written by David Heath, Member of Parliament for Somerton & Frome and published in A Message to supporters on Wed 11th Mar 2009

David Heath MP: It is a tragedy that 20,000 people needlessly die from the cold each year, and many more become ill.

If you could pass a Bill in Parliament which could save lives, help the poorest people in Britain, help in the fight against climate change, and what's more create jobs in a recession, wouldn't you think that would be worthwhile?

I do, and that's why I'm trying to get as much support as possible for my Fuel Poverty Bill which is to get its second reading in Parliament on March 20th. I was lucky enough to come second in the annual ballot for Private Members' Bills, which means I have a real chance to get the Bill through Parliament if I have enough support from other MPs.

It is a tragedy that 20,000 people needlessly die from the cold each year, and many more become ill. It is a cruel society when hard-pressed families have to make the choice between feeding their children and keeping their home warm. And yet that is what we face in Britain today, with fuel prices more than doubled over five years and so many homes poorly insulated so that energy is wasted.

We need to:

• Require the Government to introduce a strategy to get every home in fuel poverty up to standard by 2016

• Introduce social tariffs to cut fuel bills for the poorest families

What will that do? It will make a direct difference to millions of people, both in cities and rural areas, who struggle to heat their homes. It will mean fewer people face illness or death from cold and damp. It means we will help to reduce the wastage of energy which contributes to climate change. And it will produce work for thousands of builders and insulators at a time when they desperately need it.

My Bill has the support of a wide range of organisations, those working for the elderly, for the disabled, for the environment and against poverty. It is picking up support from local councils and groups across the country.

Please do anything you can to campaign on what I think is a crucial issue, and one which we must get right.

I don't want a single extra person to die of cold in their homes in years to come in a supposedly affluent country like Britain. I hope you feel that way too.

Related Link:

Write to your MP and ask them to back David Heath's Fuel Poverty Bill.