GORDON SUPPORTS AGE UK’S WINTER PLEDGE
Gordon has pledged his support to Age UK’s Spread the Warmth Winter Campaign which is working to save lives in the town.
Last year over 24,000 people aged over 65 across the UK died unnecessarily during the winter and in the North West of England there were 3920 excess winter deaths, this includes many vulnerable residents in Blackpool at a time when energy prices are rising dramatically.
Gordon said, “These figures are a real concern and emphasise the fact that action needs to be taken in order to keep people warm in Blackpool this winter. The UK has one of the worst levels of winter deaths in older people in Europe. By signing the Age UK pledge, I am committing to working with the charity to help ensure all my older constituents are well informed of the dangers of the cold weather. I will also be holding events in Blackpool South in order to highlight these issues further.”
Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director of Age UK said: “We are delighted that Gordon Marsden MP has joined our fight to reduce excess winter deaths. We know that behind these figures lie deep-seated social issues with over 5 million households living in fuel poverty and one in three older people living in housing that is poorly insulated.”
This comes as the Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband has called for the big predator energy firms to be broken up and transparent pricing introduced to enable proper competition.
Gordon added, ‘I will now by trying to get a special adjournment debate in the House of Commons. I will continue to press the Government and the Energy Companies for a fairer deal and make sure the most vulnerable in Blackpool are protected.’
