EAST Hampshire MP Michael Mates has warned that the cost of living in the district is rising faster than many families' incomes. And he has criticised the Government's measure of 'inflation'. New research reveals that although Gordon Brown claims that official inflation is running at 2.5 per cent, everyone who does a weekly household shop, pays energy bills and receives a council tax bill, is having a far higher cost of living. Across East Hampshire council tax – including the levies charged by police and fire services – has gone up by a massive 105 per cent since Labour came to power in 1997. Mr Mates said: "The new research shows that the prices of everyday goods and services have gone up far more rapidly than Gordon Brown's 'official' consumer inflation rate of 2.5 per cent. "The prices of some of the most basic household items – bread, butter and eggs – have seen double digit rises in recent months. Petrol prices have been rising rapidly. Gas and electricity prices have jumped by 10 per cent in the last month alone. "And despite the prime minister's promise of extra help for those 5.3 million households penalised by the scrapping of the 10p tax band, many families will still lose from the changes in the Budget. "In a modern economy, a government can't directly control the cost of living – but it can avoid making it worse. "Sadly, Labour now seem so out of touch with the lives of working people that they keep piling on the misery, with an extra £110 of taxes a year in the Budget for the average family." Mr Mates was scathing in his attack: "Along with 1970s fashions, we have a 1970s economy – rising prices and falling levels of economic growth. "This phenomenon – which we last experienced when Britain had a Labour government – used to be called 'stagflation'. "It is a tribute to Gordon Brown's failings as chancellor that he has managed to revive this long- forgotten concept."
