Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference, Dover and Deal MP, Natalie Elphicke called for support for the most vulnerable during the Cost of Living crisis as well as renewing her calls for a rent freeze to help renters.
Wrong to look at cutting welfare for needy
Addressing events during the Conservative party conference at Birmingham for homeless charities Crisis and Shelter, Natalie Elphicke MP said: “It is absolutely the wrong thing to look at cutting welfare for those in need … Our Conservative values must always be to look after the most vulnerable people in society – especially in a Cost of Living crisis.”
Rent freeze
“I have proposed and called for a rent freeze for two years to help renters manage through these difficult times. A rent freeze would help in holding back the inflation in this period and therefore it would have a positive impact on public finances too. We must make sure that rent levels do not keep ever escalating because people just cannot afford them right now.”
In addition, the MP praised local organisations for their work in this area during the conference in Birmingham. Natalie said: “Dover District Council has done tremendous work on their local council housebuilding programme and I look forward to these much needed affordable new homes being made available to our community.
“I would also like to pay tribute to the excellent work of Dover Outreach Centre for their tireless work supporting those in our community struggling to find accommodation and support at this time or who find themselves homeless and on the streets. We must, as a community, support all efforts to look after those most in need of our help and support in our area.”
As well as a two-year rent freeze, Mrs Elphicke has called on the Government to ensure it has a laser-like focus on overall household costs, including oversight of all household utility costs, mortgages, and rents under one roof.
The MP said: “Every householder up and down the land is thinking ‘how much do all my bills cost?, how much do I have to pay them?, how am I going to make ends meet?’ But currently, no-one in Government is responsible or accountable for the impact of total household costs. Instead, water, gas, electricity, broadband, and council tax are dealt with across different departments. It seems common sense to me that Government should look at all the extra costs that households have to bear, in order to make the right decisions about ‘by how much’ bills can rise at any one time.”