Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that Brits can expect more government support as energy prices soar.
Johnson, who was visiting Dorset to mark a £5billion superfast internet project, spoke to reporters about the current cost of living crisis. The PM warned that Brits will face a tough few months, but that the government was committed to helping with the cost of energy.
He also reassured people that his successor as prime minister – Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – would be able to provide “a further package of support”.
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“Whichever of the two candidates gets in next week, what the Government is also going to do is provide a farther package of support for helping people with the cost of energy,” he said.
“What we’ve got to do is get through the tough months – and I’m not going to shrink from this, it is going to be tough in the months to come,” he said.
However, Mr Johnson said he wanted to give people a “sense of hope and perspective”, as Britain's consumption of Russian fossil fuels had already declined, and the Government had a “long-term British energy security strategy”.
“We’re putting in more nuclear – you’re going to be hearing more about that later this week – and we’re putting in absolutely shedloads of wind power”.
It comes after Ofgem announced last week that energy price cap will rise again - sending the average household bill rocketing to £3,549 from October.
This means the yearly gas and electricity bill for the average household will rise from from £1,971 - more than 80 per cent. Energy bills will be around £2,300 more than a year earlier.
The announcement came today amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis, with petrol and household item prices soaring and taxes and interest rates also going up. Households have been told to brace for a tough winter, with families having to come up with the money to pay bills or face living in the cold.
The new price cap - announced amid soaring global gas prices - will last for three months from October 1. But from January, analysts expect the cap to rise again to £4,200.
It is believed that around 24 million households in the UK have their domestic energy bill decided by Ofgem's price cap. A price cap is also decided for customers on prepayment meters which are separated from those with variable tariffs.
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