Industry regulator Ofgem announced today the October price cap will rise by 80 percent to an eye-watering £3,549. Adam Scorer, chief of National Energy Motion has said “the poorest households can be facing armageddon over the winter”, urging the Government to “step in”.
Money Saving expert Martin Lewis called the announcement “sickening news” which “is ready to worsen pretty soon”.
But while thousands and thousands of households could enter into poverty as bills soar while inflation is at double figures and has been tipped to worsen, MPs may have the option to maintain their pockets full.
As there’s currently no limit to what our political representatives can claim on expenses, campaigners on the Taxpayers’ Alliance have urged the Government to limit MPs’ utilities expenses.
John O’Connell, from the TPA, said: “While energy bills soar, taxpayers are certain to be concerned that their hard-earned money is getting used to insulate MPs from the price of living crisis.”
Journalist Lorraine King tweeted: “Let’s not forget that every one MPs can claim the energy bills for his or her second homes on expenses.
“Would not or not it’s a stunning gesture in the event that they paid for it out of their very own £84,144+ salaries and donated the identical amount to a food bank. Would not that be an awesome way of showing that they care?”
This comes after it was revealed greater than 400 MPs, including frontrunner within the Tory leadership contest Liz Truss, claimed expenses for heating bills on second homes since 2019.
Also caught out for claiming expenses was former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who expensed £2,751 on oil deliveries last 12 months.
But at the moment, the worth cap for the estimated annual household energy bill was under £1,200.
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Former Science Minister George Freeman expensed £1,565 for electricity and other fuel, while Sara Britcliffe, the Tory MP for Hyndburn, expensed a £1,600 electricity bill with EDF Energy.
Excluding water bills, taxpayer money funded £149,000 value of MPs’ energy bills.
Meanwhile Ms Truss, who’s well ahead of her opposite number Rishi Sunak within the polls to turn into the subsequent Prime Minister, expensed £1,548 for gas and electricity over the past three years.
Despite this, the one concrete pledge she has made is a brief moratorium on the green levy, which might only knock £160 off bills annually.
That now appears a drop within the ocean in comparison with the staggering October price cap, which forecasters have warned could even hit £5,000 by January.
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EDF’s Managing Director of Customers Philippe Commaret said half of UK households can be in fuel poverty that month if the Government doesn’t provide adequate help.
But Ms Truss has previously promised not to supply “handouts” amid the price of living crisis, as a substitute arguing that cutting taxes can alleviate a number of the burden.
Nonetheless, Ms Truss has since been accused of U-turning on this position after it emerged that she could also be preparing a package including billions of kilos in targeted support to pensioners and the poorest households.
But she has argued that the answer to the crisis won’t just be to “bung more cash into the system”.
As a substitute, Ms Truss argues that “what we’d like is to repair the availability of energy. If people think this problem goes to be over in six months they’re not right”.
Nonetheless, fixing supplies might be a long-term, reasonably than short-term solution to the issue.
And with bills rising imminently, vulnerable households will need additional support from the Government, likely above the £400 that is ready to be offered to all households from October.
