Article published in the print edition of the Herts Advertiser.
Inflation is the rot at the heart of the British economy at the moment. It drives up the bills of households. It suffocates investment and growth. It has led to the increased burden of debt interest payments for government, drawing funding away from public services. And if allowed to fester, it can cause prolonged hardship for families and businesses.
This is a global problem – happening in most countries in the world. There are a number of principle causes of inflation: central bank policy of quantitative easing has expanded money supply by trillions into the economy; Putin’s war in Ukraine has squeezed global supplies of gas and wheat; China’s zero covid policy has broken vast networks of manufacturing supply chains.
But the main driver of inflation at the moment has been the rocketing cost of energy. Demand for energy is rising from the industrialisation of developing nations at the same time as investment in oil and gas is falling. We do not have enough energy and so prices are rising – the war in Ukraine has exacerbated this, but this is a problem that has been coming for a while.
Now this is a real problem. Economic expansion has always been founded on cheap energy; affordable energy for individuals and businesses is at the heart of our economic system.
This means we need to make it easier to deliver cheap, homegrown energy supplies like nuclear, wind and solar. Encouraging investment but also – crucially – removing barriers that slow down and increase the cost of delivery. Delivering homegrown and secure energy supplies is our best weapon against price shocks and the corrosive effects of inflation. To ensure demand just not outstrip supply, reducing projected energy demand is something we can all take into our hands to commit to. The Government will be announcing plans to help people to insulate their homes, this will go some way to reduce pressure on grid supply, contribute to lower bills forever and reduce household carbon emissions all at once.
As your local Member of Parliament, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, and a member of Parliament’s Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, I will continue to do all that I can to drive forwards the development of cheap, homegrown energy to tackle the cost of energy, fight back against inflation and protect the people and businesses of Hitchin & Harpenden from ever growing bills.
