Comment: Tackling the Cost-of-Living Crisis

Last week I was grateful to meet with volunteers from Christians Against Poverty, based out of Chichester Baptist Church. They provide crucial support to local residents experiencing the overwhelming burden of excessive debt and have been operating here in Chichester for over 15 years. Over this time, they have developed a unique insight into the complex and interconnected challenges facing residents, with debt often acting not only as a financial burden but also as a source of stress, isolation and insecurity.

We discussed a range of issues, particularly the high cost of living faced by those in Chichester. Mixed with seemingly ever-increasing costs of essentials, flatlining wages and benefit payments, this is resulting in an increasing number of individuals seeking the charity's support. They support people from all walks of life and with no judgement.

Jess visiting CAP

It’s why I’m pleased that the cost of living was front and centre at the Liberal Democrat Conference last week, recognising that it’s a key issue that affects all of society. We called on the Government to implement a 12p-a-litre cut in fuel duty, at the pump until at least Christmas. It will save individuals £6.60 a tank on average, putting cash straight back into their pockets when they need it most.

Sir Ed Davey also unveiled our commitment to raising the tax-free personal allowance threshold, which has been frozen since 2021. This would take 2.5 million of the lowest earners out of paying income tax entirely and increase the take home pay of most workers by around £680. We also want to take middle-income earners out of the higher rate of tax, by increasing that threshold to £56,000, taking nurses and teachers out of a rate that was designed for stockbrokers and bankers. This is how you address a cost-of-living crisis that's being felt in all households.

Conference season is always an exhilarating and exhausting part of the year, and I was particularly pleased to see my work on the Family Courts become Liberal Democrat policy. It focused on tackling a system that rarely recognises the signs of domestic abuse and fails to protect families through the process. I proposed specialist training for the judiciary and greater data collection and transparency, ensuring cases don’t remain hidden, never to see the light of day.

There was also a clear focus on violence against women and girls more broadly, with a brilliant motion from my colleague Marie Goldman focusing on combating abuse in digital spaces. Meanwhile, our Home Affairs lead, Max Wilkinson, called for a complete ban on tampering with Meta glasses, as well as much tougher restrictions on their purchase by convicted sex offenders, following their growing use to film people without consent.

The Liberal Democrats will always stand up for the powerless and give a voice to the voiceless, and we demonstrated that further at our conference.