Chesham and Amersham MP, Sarah Green, has condemned the government for its 'lack of urgency or solutions' in response to the cost-of-living crisis.
Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday on this year’s legislative programme, Ms Green said: "Inflation is now at 9% - the highest in over 40 years - and people are struggling to imagine how they can make ends meet, let alone make it. The notion that people can solve the crisis by taking cookery classes or working longer hours is as tone deaf as it is offensive."
She went on to highlight the alarming decline of Chesham and Amersham's local services – from banking to policing and transport - which flies in the face of the government's commitment to 'levelling up'.
Referencing the government's failure to invest in the local police force, the Lib Dem added: "They talk a good game about their commitment to recruit extra police officers, yet in our local force—Thames Valley police—we were promised an additional 609 officers by the end of May 2023; instead, they were down 29 officers in 2021."
One thing Ms Green did welcome was a U-turn on the government's misguided planning reforms which would have removed power from local people.
Citing her constituent's dissatisfaction with the previous plans, she said: "I am glad that the Government appear to have heard the voices of the people of Chesham and Amersham and dropped those proposals.
"Having been made to think again, the Government are now looking to give communities more say over developments in their area. I only hope that the results live up to the billing."
The Chesham and Amersham MP closed by highlighting the irony of the government's refusal to fund much needed local transport services – the Department for Transport recently rejected Buckinghamshire Council's bid for bus funding – while ploughing ahead with the high-cost construction of the destructive HS2 line.
Ms Green pleaded with the government to stop and reconsider the destructive project: "I urge the Government, before the High-Speed Rail Bill is brought before this place, to please pause, assess the damage already done and undertake a fresh cost-benefit analysis of the project that takes into consideration the many changes that have occurred since hon. Members regrettably consented to it."
[VIDEO: Watch Sarah Green's full speech here]
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