Stevenage has been hammered by energy costs; the government must hold the price cap

The cost of living has been a continual source of pressure in Stevenage, ever since it was designated as the first new town under the New Town Act 1946. The town has been growing ever since and has always been a destination for families. We have amazing transport links, hundreds of train services, 22 minutes from central London and direct links to Brighton and Edinburgh. We build 25 per cent of the world’s telecommunication satellites, employ thousands of scientists and provide stable jobs to raise a family.

With more than 30,000 commuters, people leaving London come here in search of better schools, housing and low crime, but this has always meant housing and commuting costs are a huge pressure on family finances. Inflation, council tax, National Insurance increases all have an effect, but local people are focused on the cost of energy. Houses full of children, teenagers and young adults wanting to charge their devices and live their lives place huge pressure on family energy costs.

I have been clear we must be more courageous in supporting families. The government should have instructed Ofgem to hold the price cap in place in April and it must not miss that opportunity again in October.

The current problems are the result of volatility in the global wholesale price of gas, exacerbated by tragic events in Ukraine, a lack of storage infrastructure in the UK and energy companies under capitalised and under financial strain.

The government must help smooth out volatility in prices by giving energy companies access to a credit facility, for example, £25bn, which they could pay interest on, as they draw down funds to get through any sudden spikes and smooth the increases over the next 10 years. It is possible to keep the energy price cap in place if we are courageous enough to do it.

“The government should have instructed Ofgem to hold the price cap in place in April and it must not miss that opportunity again in October”