Labour’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest, Dr Matt Lamb, last week supported a freeze on bills for 43,000 households in Wyre Forest and slammed the government for not supporting Labour’s plans.

Thousands of households across Wyre Forest were this week denied an energy bill freeze following a vote in the House of Commons. Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs, including local Tory MP Mark Garnier, joined the government in blocking Labour’s call to freeze energy bills until 2017, saving the average household £120.

Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Wyre Forest, Dr Matt Lamb said:

 “Last week, the Tory-led government had the chance to help hardworking people in Wyre Forest and vote for a freeze on energy bills, but they refused. Instead of supporting a freeze on prices that would help 43,000 households across our area struggling with the cost-of-living crisis, they have ignored the issue once again.

“Hardworking people across Wyre Forest will rightly ask why the government has left them out in the cold and voted against Labour’s plans to help families struggling with soaring energy bills. In voting against Labour’s proposals, David Cameron’s government has proved again that they only stand up for a privileged few.”

Caroline Flint MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said:

“Wednesday’s vote in Parliament showed once again that the government is determined to kick the problem of rip-off energy bills into the long grass.

“As the recent price freeze announcement from SSE showed, energy companies are now bringing forward precisely those reforms first proposed by Labour, and which the government claimed was impossible. But Tories and Lib Dems from across the country refused to support a nationwide price freeze this week.

“A Labour government will freeze your gas and electricity bills until 2017, and reform our broken energy market. Our plans will break up the big energy companies, put an end to their secret deals and make tariffs simpler and fairer. And until these reforms kick in, we will put a stop to unfair price rises by freezing energy bills until 2017, saving the average household £120.”