IN this week’s column, Labour Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols highlights rising energy bills and the cut to universal credit payments.

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, we all want to feel some comfort and security. Unfortunately, just as we slowly emerge from the worst health crisis of our lifetimes, I am hearing from more and more constituents who are struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living soars.

While we have hopefully seen the worst of the fuel shortages, we face rising energy bills and the collapse of a number of energy companies that are forcing households to switch suppliers.

Food costs are also going up and family budgets face being squeezed by the highest tax rates in 70 years.

Government support for councils may not be renewed, which would lead to council tax bills going up. Wages are not matching inflation and so people are facing real terms cuts.

In this context, I think that the Government was wrong to raise taxes that disproportionately hit the lowest paid while not costing other groups, like wealthy landlords, a penny more.

And it was doubly wrong to choose this moment to cut universal credit payments by over £1,000 a year – the biggest overnight cut to the basic rate of social security since World War II.

In Warrington, 40 per cent of those who get this support are in low paid work and this will hurt more than 11,000 local children, driving too many of their families into poverty.

The Government is making the wrong choices and it is hurting the economy and the public.

In happier news, I’d like to thank everybody who sponsored me on my marathon run to raise money for the Warrington Wolves Foundation. It was a hard slog of six hours eight minutes of hell, but it was worth it!

People have generously donated almost £3,000 that will go to supporting young people in the community. And there’s still time if anyone wants to chip in, via the following link:

www.justgiving.com/charlottenicholsMP.

Locally, it’s been another busy few weeks with visits including a trip to the Rapid Community Response Service, an exciting pilot project in Warrington which brings together services from the NHS, social care and the council under one roof allowing them to provide urgent whole-person support to anyone in the community who needs it.

I always enjoy visiting our brilliant local schools – the young people are so inquisitive and engaging – and always keep me on my toes! This month I visited St Ann’s C of E Primary and Culcheth High School.

It was great to open a green hydrogen conference, on the exciting opportunities for Warrington and the wider region as we build back better and greener from the pandemic.

And, I was delighted and hugely proud, to join Warrington North’s own Bombay 8 at the Curry Life Magazine Awards, where the team picked up a well-deserved national award for best restaurant 2021!