Tory MPs' absences help Fuel Poverty Bill to fall

11.59.00pm GMT Sun 22nd Mar 2009

Some people are having to choose between heating and eating

Liberal Democrats have criticised all the Conservative MPs in Oxfordshire, after a Private Members' Bill to tackle fuel poverty, officially supported by their party, fell because too few Conservative MPs turned up to vote the bill through.

The Fuel Poverty Bill, introduced by Liberal Democrat MP David Heath, proposed steps to make homes more energy-efficient. The Bill would have forced energy companies to offer their lowest tariffs to the most vulnerable households, but was rejected at its second reading in the House of Commons. It received 89 votes for and two votes against, but needed 100 votes to proceed. The Conservative MPs failed to turn up, leaving Dr Evan Harris, Lib Dem MP for Oxford West & Abingdon, as the lone Oxfordshire MP to vote for the Bill. The Labour Government officially opposed the Bill.

County Councillor Alan Armitage said: "The fact that Ed Vaizey obviously couldn't care less whether this bill continued on its path has cost vulnerable constituents the chance of cheaper energy bills. Some people in Oxfordshire are having to decide between heating and eating. The Labour Government has done far too little in twelve years to tackle this.

Forty-five Liberal Democrat MPs turned up to back the bill. Only twenty Conservative MPs - one in ten of their number in Parliament - voted for the Bill on Friday, in spite of 'official' Conservative support.

The Bill is backed by groups including:

Age Concern

Help the Aged

Child Poverty Action Group

Disability Alliance

Friends of the Earth

Centre for Sustainable Energy

Sustainable Energy Partnership

UNISON

According to official figures 37,197 households in Oxfordshire suffer fuel poverty; the figures are likely to underestimate the true figures in Oxfordshire, where housing costs are higher than the UK average.

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See also Alan Armitage's letter in the Herald series of newspapers.