HUSTINGS APPEAL BY SUFFERING RIVERSIDE TENANTS

`Heat-or-eat`:

election hopefuls

send support

Results are published today of a  campaign to get support  from parliamentary candidates for tenants in Longtown(Cumbria) who cannot afford to heat their homes.

All five candidates fighting Penrith and the Border constituency were contacted by Longtown Action for Heat, a community group formed by  an estimated 60 tenants of Riverside Housing Association of Liverpool

The tenants say that for  more than three years they have had to suffer  from cold homes because of  rocketing energy bills caused by Riverside`s dodgy boilers which the tenants say should be  replaced.

Paul Dill puts the Longtown case at Westminster last year

 In some cases, hard-pressed 

tenants  have had to chose 

between paying for heating  their 

homes or  paying grocery 

bills...heating or eating.
                                                                                                                                                                  Paul Dill, Secretary of the community group said today: "We wish to thank those candidates

 have sent us messages of support and hope that this support will lead to a solution of a problem that is causing real suffering and has gone on far too long”

Replies from candidates (in italics)  are as follows:

  

BRYAN BURROW  Green Party

 A warm and comfortable home should be everyone's right, and it is shameful that in a country like the UK 'heat or eat' can be a real choice for some families. The Green Party would aim to cut energy costs across all sectors, through reducing demand and increasing the efficiency of our housing. We would cut bills and ensure warm homes for everybody by ensuring that all new dwellings are built to zero carbon standards.
For existing homes we would reduce energy demand through intensive retrofit programmes of home insulation aiming to retrofit  9 million homes to the Passivhaus refurbishment standard (EPC Band C) by 2020, as part of a new Green National Infrastructure programme. This would start in areas with high levels of fuel poverty. These would focus first on improving
 conditions - and reducing the energy costs - for poorer households, particularly those suffering fuel poverty.
 Such a nationwide programme would be a win-win, creating thousands of jobs, giving people warm and comfortable homes to live in, cutting bills and reducing the amount of energy the UK has to import. As a Green Party candidate I am horrified that almost one in five households are living in fuel poverty in this country, mainly due to the poor condition and low energy efficiency of much of our housing.The Green Party believes that no one should have to live in a cold home, or have to choose between heating and other basic needs.

 In addition to supporting Green Party policy which would help people out of fuel poverty in Longtown,  I will explore funding possibilities to support legal action against  Riverside Housing Association."

 NEIL HUGHES Liberal Democrat

  

I completely support the residents' campaign in Longtown and have attended several recent meetings on this topic. Only this morning I have again contacted John Barker, Secretary of Carlisle Tenants`and Residents` Federation & Jimmy Robb, Chairman of Longtown Action for Heat, to assert my support for the

campaign.The best of luck with the campaign.


RORY STEWART Conservative

Mr Stewart was asked about thermostats which  had been mentioned in one of his leaflets and made this statement:

The new technologies I was referring to, were devices like smart meters,which allow individuals, and even communities as a whole, to monitor their energy usage. But I have also been pushing smart grids which extend the control and saving to the distribution and transmission networks. As the technology develops, we should hopefully find ourselves in a world where we
 can adjust our energy consumption throughout the day depending upon flexible tariff rates.
 We made some progress in my first term as MP trying to setup
 Wigton as one of the first fully connected smart-grid towns in the country.
 Further details on the project can be found on my website here -
 www.rorystewart.co.uk/category/energy/
The technology could definitely play a big role in Longtown, and could possibly help resolve some of the disagreements over heating and energy use that residents continue to have with Riverside. If re-elected, I am of course only too willing to continue working alongside local residents to try to see Riverside definitively resolve this issue.

JOHN STANYER (UKIP)

To date, there has been no response.

LEE RUSHWORTH  (Labour)

 To date, there has been no response.