The Tory cost-of-living crisis has been getting worse. Energy costs in particular are proving unaffordable for people in Stretford and Urmston, with many being unable to heat their homes, so Andrew Western has written to the Minister for Energy to demand help.
People are struggling to pay their energy bills and schemes that were brought in to help simply aren’t working in practice.
The forced installation of prepayment meters has been in the news recently. Under this pressure, the Government finally stepped in to halt it, but once again it is too little too late.
Residents with prepayment meters have told Andrew that they have experienced numerous problems when trying to use their universal Government vouchers, which are supposed to be worth £66 a month. Utility companies are refusing to apply these vouchers to gas accounts – which is what most people use to heat their homes.
Andrew wrote to the Minister for Energy, who replied: “we encourage utility companies to offer as much flexibility as possible”, but they stopped short of compelling utility companies to give customers a choice.
This weak response from the Minister for Energy is what we have come to expect from a Government that won’t commit to a windfall tax on energy companies, despite their profits rocketing.
Andrew also challenged British Gas, who said they were refusing to apply the vouchers so they could ‘reconcile their accounts’.
Labour will bring in a proper one-off windfall tax to support households through the cost-of-living crisis. The party has committed to investing in insulation and clean energy as a long-term solution.