A Northumberland MP says the Government is "out of touch" with families struggling during the cost of living crisis.
Labour MP Ian Lavery said the country "desperately" needs to get the Government out and replace it with one that cares about its people.
His comments come after ChronicleLive highlight the impact rising energy prices are having on communities, with one Ashington charity seeing its bills increase 'tenfold' and pensioners forced to use blankets to avoid putting the heating on.
Mr Lavery, who represents Wansbeck, said: “These stories regarding the effects of the cost of living crisis across the constituency are heart-breaking yet tragically unsurprising.
"This Conservative Government are so out of touch they simply do not believe that these types of things have become commonplace in communities, not just here in Wansbeck but up and down the country.
"The Government’s cuts to universal credit and benefits have been devastating for deprived communities everywhere and the levels of support to deal with the cost of living crisis has been nowhere near sufficient to deal with the scale of the challenges people are facing.
"This is on top of over a decade of cuts and austerity which has left our communities particularity exposed to these economic shocks.
"We desperately need to get this dreadful government out and get one in which cares about its people and has the ideas and ambition to tackle the mounting problems we are facing before they become worse and worse.”
In a bid to help families, the Government says thousands of North East families will receive a £301 cost of living payment this spring, which will be the first of five direct payments totalling £1,350.
Government bosses say every household with a domestic electricity supply is also benefitting from the Energy Price Guarantee, which is saving the average household around £900 this winter and a further £500 in 2023/24 by capping energy costs.
Benefits will also be rising in line with inflation from April, which will see a 10.1% increase for pensioners and those on the lowest incomes, whilst the National Living Wage will see its biggest ever cash rise, bringing it to £10.42 an hour.
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