Martin Lewis has slammed the Government over rising energy bills , accusing leaders of failing to do enough to support struggling households and warning that vulnerable people will be left “destitute and in danger” as prices soar this winter.
The MoneySavingExpert founder laid into the Tories as he urged that desperate households could not afford to wait for the party to choose its new leader before putting much-needed support in place, The Mirror reports . The news comes after Martin issued a warning on Tuesday that energy bills are set to increase even more than previously thought.
The finance expert broke his social media hiatus to deliver the “tragic news” that the energy price cap was forecast to rise 81% by October this year, and a further 19% in January 2023. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insights has predicted that bills will reach £3,582 per year for the average household by October, before climbing to £4,266 from January 2023, and again to £4,427 from April 2023.
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Education secretary James Cleverly appeared on Wednesday’s edition of Good Morning Britain, and when quizzed about the Government providing energy bills support said that “the candidates cannot put their plans into practice until they are Prime Minister”, referring to the leadership contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss.
But Martin Lewis slammed the claims when he later appeared on the ITV morning show. “What a load of bull. That is complete bull,” he fumed. “I won’t use the final word on the back of it. That’s just simply not true.”
He added that there is “absolutely nothing stopping the Government” from providing more help for households ahead of prices rising once again. “The idea that they can’t do anything is wrong - they are not willing to do anything, they are not willing to work together.”
Martin went on to issue a stark warning that the looming price hikes are “a national crisis” of the same scale as the Covid-19 pandemic, comparing the current situation to watching “people dying in overcrowded hospitals while we allow people to still go to sporting events”.
Appearing on Wednesday’s Radio 4 Today programme, he insisted that Rishi Sunak would need to double support payments that were introduced in May in order to cover rising bills, and criticised Liz Truss’ plan to drop the green levy as “a sticking plaster on a gaping wound”.
“Rishi Sunak needs to say more detail of what he will do and Liz Truss needs to say more of what she will do,” Martin warned. “And if it is just tax cuts and the green levy, we’re going to leave millions destitute and in danger this winter and that cannot happen in our country.”
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