Labour’s Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey has described the UK government’s inaction over fuel poverty – which is continuing to worsen – as a “national scandal” and insisted that the system is broken.
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‘‘It is a national scandal that an increasing number of people are forced to live in fuel poverty as a result of rip off prices, a broken energy system and a government that doesn’t care,” Labour’s shadow business secretary said in an official party press release, published on June 26.
She also criticized delays in the ruling Tory government’s implementation of a price cap on energy tariff, which will limit energy providers’ ability to hike prices and rip-off consumers.
A report published on Tuesday revealed over 2.5 million people in England are living in fuel poverty, meaning they have to decide between eating or heating their homes.
Around 11.1% of all households in England are suffering from fuel poverty, with single parents struggling the most, as over a quarter of households headed by a single parent are living in fuel poverty.
In addition to slamming the Tories, she also vowed, on behalf of her party, to fix the “broken energy market” by insulating four million homes across the UK free-of-charge in their first term, saving households a minimum of £270 per year (around $360 at the current GBP/USD exchange rate.)
Labour has also promised radical reforms to the energy market to better serve consumers' interests and create a “fairer system.”
With regard to a price cap, MP Long Bailey said they would implement an emergency cap to ensure annual bills don’t exceed £1,000 if they enter government in the next general election, which is scheduled to be held in 2022 at the latest.
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