As the new year begins, families across Thanet are looking ahead with hope after a bruising decade, where it has often felt like the economy simply isn’t working for ordinary people. In Ramsgate, Margate, and Broadstairs, many people have been asking me the same question: will this finally be the year things start to feel easier?
As the MP for East Thanet, that question shapes everything I do. Tackling the cost-of-living crisis is my highest priority, because when households are struggling to cover the basics, nothing matters more.
Thanet enters 2026 with enormous strengths. We are rich in community spirit, creativity, and resilience. And we possess a beautiful natural environment and stunning heritage that continue to draw people from across the country.
But we know the realities of living in a coastal area are often lower wages, less secure work, and a struggle to cope with everyday costs. Grandparents tell me their heating costs have doubled, or that they worry their grandkids won’t be able to stay living locally because they can’t find a good job or afford the rent. People are cutting back on holidays or little treats that they once took for granted.
We have made progress. Wages have been rising more than prices steadily since Labour won the election, while mortgage costs are now at their lowest level since 2022. But we need to go further, so that achievements aren’t measured as lines on a spreadsheet, but as change people feel in their wallets.
That’s why it’s hugely welcome that, from April, households will see an average £150 cut to their energy bills. That’s a change everyone in Thanet – and especially older residents and those living in draughty or poorly insulated homes – will see on their bank statement every month. As someone who has campaigned throughout my life on energy issues, I’m also really excited for the upcoming announcement about how the Warm Homes Plan will help cut household bills, especially for the most vulnerable.
We’re also boosting the National Living Wage this year by around £900, while the state pension will rise by up to £575 for pensioners. And thanks to action in last year’s budget, thousands of children in Thanet will be lifted out of poverty by the next election, and more than half a million children in total across the country.
I’m glad to see the government bearing down on the cost of travel, with rail fares frozen for the first time in 30 years. I know that will really help commuters and students getting to college. And as a passionate campaigner for better buses, I’m delighted the £3 bus fare cap will continue until at least March 2027, keeping buses affordable for everyone in Thanet who relies on them.
For parents looking ahead to the school year, help is also on the way. Parents can now access 30 hours of free childcare per week for pre-school children, worth more than £7000 per child per year. Free breakfast clubs will also open in 500 more schools across the country this year, saving families about £450 and giving children the best start to the day. Having spoken to parents and children at Thanet’s first free breakfast club at Salmestone Primary in Margate last year, I know how much that club is already helping parents with the cost-of-living and juggle busy lives. I can’t wait to see more families benefit when more of these clubs are launched across Thanet this year.
As so many of us discover each January, new years’ resolutions are easily made but even more easily broken. Much like a pledge to complete dry January, learn a new skill, or get fit, renewing Britain cannot be achieved with empty slogans or quick fixes.
To make sure politics can deliver for people again, the government has set a direction rooted in economic stability and fairness for ordinary people – and is sticking to its guns. After years when coastal communities like ours were too often overlooked, this year Britain will start to feel the renewal Labour promised.
My new years’ resolution is clear: to keep fighting for our community, to keep the cost-of-living at the top of the agenda, and to make sure families here feel change in their everyday lives. If we get that right, then 2026 will be a year not just of getting by, but the beginning of a brighter future for everyone in Thanet.
This column originally appeared in the Isle of Thanet Gazette.