MP demands bills action as more face fuel poverty

GOWER MP Tonia Antoniazzi has called on the UK Government to take bold action to protect households from escalating energy bills as the cost of living crisis deepens.

With inflation hitting a generational high and energy bills set to soar, the MP has warned that families in Swansea and millions of people living across Britain could be pushed into fuel poverty within months.

In December Citizens Advice recorded a 100% increase in cases where people ran out of money to top up their pre-payment meter, compared to the same time last year. Now, with the energy price cap set to increase in April, bills could soar by £700.

New analysis from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has revealed that from April households on low incomes will be spending on average 18% of their income after housing costs on energy bills following the impending increase of the energy price cap.

This would have a devastating impact, pulling around two million people into fuel poverty overnight, the MP said.

Ms Antoniazzi added: “It has already been a tough winter for the 5,600 families in Gower who were hit by the Tories’ callous £1,000 cut to universal credit. Now they are too preoccupied by scandal and infighting to step in as the cost-of-living crisis engulfs more households.

“In January Labour proposed a cut to VAT on energy bills which could’ve saved families hundreds of pounds a year, but the Tories voted it down despite Boris Johnson promising to do so three times during and after the Brexit referendum campaign.

“We could be doing so much more like providing targeted support to low-income households or spreading the cost of supplier failures over two to three years.

“This is a crisis which is going to hit households hard, yet the Tories are nowhere to be seen.

“Working families deserve security, prosperity and respect, and they aren’t getting that from the UK Government right now when they need it most. The Tories need to step up and get a grip of escalating energy bills before more households are pushed into fuel poverty.”

Gower MP Tonia Antoniazzi.