This week, Wycombe MP Steve Baker writes exclusively to Bucks Free Press readers. He writes:

The opinion pollster, You Gov, tracks people’s concerns on a regular basis.

At the moment the most important issue is the economy.

I can understand why.

I have been concerned for a long time about inflation.

The Bank of England has clearly failed in its 2% inflation targeting; last year the Bank said inflation would be transitory after coming out of lockdown.

I made it clear both in Parliament and in the media the result of the Bank’s quantitative easing programme, which had indirectly funded the Government response to Covid, could only mean inflation would rise and continue to rise.

I knew it would have a harmful effect on ordinary households by making prices higher, eroding the value of savings, and distorting investment decisions.

We need to support people through these difficult times.

I am clear tax cuts are the best way to help so people can have extra money to spend on the things most important to them.

It is interesting to see the two leadership candidates for the Conservative Party seem to largely agree with me and have identified tax and inflation as the most important issues in their campaigns.

Liz Truss has made clear that she wants to review the mandate that the Bank of England has over interest rates.

It seems to me Liz Truss is the best placed candidate to work through these issues and the challenging times we face.

Many people will be concerned about the projected rise in the energy caps which will now be reviewed every three months rather than six months, on top of the rise that has already happened.

I have always been clear there can an economically and politically viable path to Net Zero but we need a different approach, reducing emissions while being realistic about what can be engineered at reasonable cost to the British people.

We need to think a little less about the targets, and much more about what people can actually afford.