Rochdale MP, Tony Lloyd, backs Labour’s plan to ease the pressure on household energy bills as the cost of living crisis is set to worsen.

Tony said, “Households in Rochdale and across the piece are still looking at a 40 percent increase in their energy bills come this April.

“People are telling me they already feel the financial pinch but given that temperatures have recently fallen below zero I know many will be feeling the added pressure, except for energy company shareholders who continue to enjoy record profits.

“That cannot be right. That’s why Labour has a plan to reach one hundred percent clean power by 2030 and retrofit millions of homes. It could save typical households up to £1,400, not just for one year but for every year to come.”

Claiming the government is leaving families out in the cold, Labour set out a package to ease the immediate costs on households expected in April. That package would be paid for by bringing in a proper one-off windfall tax on energy giants – which Labour says the government has so far failed to do, and it would 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 recent call 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.

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