The “vast majority of people” may now be in fuel poverty, a government energy chief has warned. Darren Jones, the chairman of the Commons; Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said a possible definition of what fuel poverty means is if after having paid your housing costs and based on your disposable income, you are spending more than 10% of that on energy bills.
The Labour MP for Bristol North West told BBC Breakfast: “The vast majority of people are now in that territory across the country." He went on to say: "That is why Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves put forward a very significant and bold suggestion about helping pretty much everybody by keeping the price capped to where it is now and stopping the increase in October because they, I think, rightly concluded that actually the vast majority of people now are being affected by this.”
Meanwhile the Environment Secretary has said people “don’t have long to wait” for news on how the next prime minister will tackle the cost-of-living crisis. George Eustice said both Tory leadership candidates have already set out “some specific things” they would do to ease the burden, but it is right that whoever secures the top job will “want to look at all of the options properly costed” when they take office.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We announced a package of measures in June which was a £400 rebate for everyone, and then additional support for the most vulnerable. Both candidates have said they will do more. You don’t have long to wait, there will be a new prime minister in place in 10 days or so.
“And that is the point at which that new prime minister should look at the options and make decisions and they’ve both made clear that this will be absolutely at the top of their in-tray." He added: “I think it’s right that when they become prime minister, whoever it is, they will want to look at all of the options properly costed and to understand the impact of each of those options.”
However Robert Buckley, head of relationship development at energy consultancy Cornwall Insight, said the period of extremely high energy prices has “a way to go”. He told Times Radio “there are a number of choices open to politicians” and “there are a number of levers that can be pulled” in terms of dealing with the energy crisis.
He said: “Firstly, around direct relief on consumer bills, and by the way, should that extend to businesses? Secondly, you can look at the structure of where these price rises are coming from and maybe there’s something that can be done to intervene in the wholesale market, particularly around the wholesale price of gas.
“Maybe there are things that you can do by encouraging renewables generators to trade very high prices now for investment in the future.”
But he insisted the price cap was “always going to lead the market into disrepute” and has “outlived its purpose”. He said the price cap was “a very bad idea” that was introduced as a short-term measure to shut down the previous cost of living energy debate by Theresa May’s government.
He said: “At some point it was going to lead the market into disrepute and probably triggering a wave of supplier failures, which it has done and a wave of costs on consumers. It’s probably outlived its purpose. It was never designed for a situation like this. But, you know, if you don’t want to have a price cap in a situation like this, then don’t design a price cap in the first place.”
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea
