Energy bills: Next PM will tackle eye-watering costs, says Johnson amid criticismon August 28, 2022 at 6:17 am

The next prime minister will tackle “eyewatering” energy bills, Boris Johnson has said, amid criticism that he has failed to respond to the crisis.

Writing in the Daily Mail, the outgoing Tory leader said his successor would deliver a “huge package” of support.

He blamed Russia’s war in Ukraine for rising costs, but said that with every month “Putin’s position grows weaker”.

Charities and experts have called on the government to announce more support as a matter of urgency.

On Friday, the energy regulator hiked the price cap on household bills by 80%, meaning the average bill will rise to £3,549 a year from October.

Save the Children warned that the rise will have a devastating impact on households, while consumer expert and campaigner Martin Lewis said lives were at risk.

People were panicking, he said, and businesses, energy trade bodies and consumer groups were all calling for more help.

Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, one of whom will be announced as Mr Johnson’s replacement on 5 September, have faced repeated questions about what action they would take.

Both have pledged further support but given only limited details.

A report in the Sunday Telegraph suggests Ms Truss is considering a 5% cut to VAT across the board, but a spokesperson for her campaign said it wouldn’t be right for her to announce any plans at this stage.

Mr Sunak has said he would cut VAT on energy bills and has promised targeted support for the most vulnerable. His team said a cut to all VAT would be “incredibly regressive” and cost more than £30bn.

In his Daily Mail article, Mr Johnson said the months ahead “are going to be tough, perhaps very tough”.

“Our energy bills are going to be eye-watering. For many of us, the cost of heating our homes is already frightening,” he wrote.

“Colossal” amounts of taxpayers’ money had already been committed to helping people, he added.

All households are to get a £400 rebate on energy bills, with low income and vulnerable households receiving an additional £650.

Pensioners will also receive £300 along with their winter fuel payment in November, and people on an eligible disability benefit will receive an additional £150.

“Next month – whoever takes over from me – the government will announce another huge package of financial support,” said Mr Johnson.

On Saturday, Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi warned that middle-earners, as well as those on low incomes, were likely to need government help to pay their energy bills this winter.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves accused the government of being “willing to leave millions of families out in the cold”.

Labour has said its own plan to freeze energy prices this winter – paid for in part by a windfall tax on energy companies – would save someone on the minimum wage more than £40 a week.

Asked whether it was right that even the richest would benefit, Labour’s Darren Jones – chair of the department for business, energy and industrial strategy committee of MPs – said “the vast majority of people” would be affected by the rises.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said the energy price cap rise was “nothing short of a catastrophe for millions of families and pensioners”, and Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, warned businesses could “go to the wall” over winter.

In his article, Mr Johnson said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine had “spooked” the energy markets, and it was costing British consumers. But he said Britain would not “buckle” and that the West should not go “wobbly”.

He also said the government was working to end the UK’s dependency on Russian hydrocarbons.

“With every new wind farm we build offshore, with every new nuclear project we approve, we strengthen our strategic position,” he said. “We become less vulnerable to the vagaries of the global gas price and less vulnerable to Putin’s pressure.”

He said the decisions he had made would make for a “bounceback” and predicted a “golden” future for the UK.