Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish, has called on the Government to tackle rising household energy bills, and backed Labour’s plan to ease pressure on struggling households.
As it stands, the Government’s current strategy exposes households to major new energy price spikes in April. Gwynne has urged the Government to stop the energy price cap going up from April, and called for ‘further short-term and long-term action’.
Labour’s immediate energy package, announced recently by the Party, would be paid for by a proper one-off windfall tax on energy giants and mean:
- A new measure to pass on savings to households immediately, by stopping the energy price cap going up from April. Right now, government plans expose households to a major new spike in prices in April.
- A new “insulation jump start” – a pot of funding that the government could use right now to supercharge home insulation across the country, saving families hundreds off their bills.
- Ending the scandalous penalty imposed on prepayment meter customers, saying they will ensure customers do not pay more than those paying by direct debit, alongside a 3 month moratorium on the forced installation of pre-payment meters.
- Offering off-grid households equivalent support, with funding available for households in Northern Ireland.
It follows Labour’s call this week for the government to rule out a fuel duty rise at the Budget, if OBR projections show it’s affordable.
If there is additional headroom in the upcoming Budget, the party is calling for it to go towards the cost-of-living crisis as a priority, starting by ensuring that fuel duty will not rise in the Budget.
Labour has also committed to radical long-term plans for clean power and retrofit, which could save households up to £1,400 off their annual bills for years to come.
Commenting, Andrew Gwynne said:
“People across Denton and Reddish are really struggling, and it isn’t right to leave households exposed to even further price rises in the April.
“I want to see proper-long term policies to improve our energy resilience, but also immediate action to help people now. That means freezing the price cap over April, supercharging home insulation, scrapping the absurd penalty imposed upon pre-payment customers, and helping off-grid households.
“This would be paid for by extending the windfall tax, closing the fossil fuel investment loophole, and taxing oil and gas profits at the same rate as Norway.”