‘We are speaking to people on the doorstep every week who are struggling’

• AS the Islington Labour candidates for St Mary’s & St James’ and Laycock wards, we were appalled by the Tory government’s budget last week which had a gaping hole where the commitment to helping tackle the cost of living crisis should have been.

We are speaking to people on the doorstep every week who are struggling with rising inflation, increasing energy bills, stagnating wages and are relying on food banks.

The government has tried to cover up its failure to act with the seriously inadequate one-off, so-called “household support fund”.

Our Labour-run council will work extra hard, as it did in December 2021, to get this money to the, sadly, increasing number of households who are most in need.

But it simply isn’t enough. Government isn’t acting. Locally it is our council that is stepping up to support people.

We are proud to have seen: a cut to council tax for lower-income households, investing in our childcare bursary scheme to help parents back into work or training, and the council’s SHINE, seasonal health intervention network, offer advice and support on energy bills.

Our manifesto includes £10million per year investment to make our council homes more energy efficient, cutting energy bills and looking after our environment. It’s obvious that only Islington Labour is truly standing up for local people.

JOSEPH CROFT
HANNAH MCHUGH
SAIQA PANDOR
Labour Candidates for St Mary’s & St James’ ward

ILKAY CINKO-ONER
HEATHER STAFF
NURULLAH TURAN
Labour Candidates for Laycock ward