Energy Bills - 1/8/22

Alan Brown MP has said the Tory government has allowed the cost of living crisis to spiral ‘out of control’ as new forecasts show energy bills are set to triple - with the average energy bill likely to rise to £500 for January 2023 alone.

The forecast, by utilities consultants BFY, also predicts that the price cap could rise to £3,850 by the end of the year - far exceeding what has previously been predicted. That’s nearly 4x the cost compared to July 2021.

MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun and SNP’s Shadow Energy Minister, Alan Brown has criticised the governing Tory party for prioritising ‘pathetic’ internal squabbles over the real issues of the day, and called for ‘real action’ and a swift package of support to help households cope with rising bills and inflation.

The predictions come after leading anti-poverty organisation, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said in a recent report that the Cost of Living Support package announced in May 2022 will provide some temporary relief, but for many, the one-off payments will barely touch the sides.

Commenting, Alan Brown MP said:

“The Tory-made cost of living crisis is now completely out of control, with forecasts showing annual bills could come in at just under £4,000 in a mere matter of months.

“This spells a very grim winter for tens of millions of households across the UK, and with no help in sight there’s no telling how high bills will go and how much misery people will be forced to endure.

“How many more people must be forced to choose between heating or eating before the Tories wake up to the brutal reality of life in Conservative Britain and take action?

“But of course they’re too busy prioritising their own pathetic internal squabbles to pay any heed to the suffering their rule has enforced on the country.

“Lame leadership pledges of green levy and VAT cuts won’t make a jot of difference, nor will tax cuts designed to help the richest. We know this also means a doubling down on the ideology-driven austerity agenda that helped get us into this mess in the first place. 

“What’s needed is real action and a swift package of support for households struggling with out of control bills and rising inflation, but there’s a fat chance of it happening under Westminster control.

“Boris Johnson wasn’t up to the task, his two potential successors aren’t either, especially given one of them spent months as Chancellor refusing to offer real support to struggling households and failed to get a grip on rising inflation. 

“The Westminster system is clearly broken beyond repair. No amount of tinkering around the edges or a changing of the guard will usher in action to actually help the most vulnerable, all the more reason Scotland needs independence so we can chart our own course and put the cost of living crisis front and centre.

“Thankfully Scots will have the opportunity to free themselves from the grasp of undemocratic and unconcerned Tory rule forever by voting Yes to independence on October 19 2023.”