Fuel poverty; why Boris Johnson must act now over energy bills crisis – The Yorkshire Post says

Assertions made by Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi during his typically combative and pugnacious interviews yesterday, an early test of the sincerity of this stance is offered by today’s report, from the York-based Joseph Rowntree Foundation, on the extent to which soaring energy prices will devastate the poorest families, adding to harmful legacy for millions of children already growing up in poverty.

This is Labour’s plan to offset rising energy bills – Jonathan Ashworth

After all, the Tories were first elected in 2010 on a manifesto of compassionate Conservatism and JRF research reveals that households on low incomes will be spending on average 18 per cent of their income after housing costs on energy bills after April. For single adult households in this demographic, this rises to 54 per cent.

And while the spike in global energy costs has taken many by surprise, Ministers cannot escape the fact that living costs are rising far faster than incomes as inflation tops five per cent and many families are already having to decide whether to heat or eat, one of the most invidious choices of all.

To them, warm words about ‘levelling up’ are immaterial – they need help now to avoid plunging even further into a never-ending cycle of indebtedness and human misery – and a government genuinely on top of current affairs will be looking at how to provide some relief to householders, whether it be a levy on the major energy firms, or creation of a new fund to help offset the most immediate hardship. It also reveal if Mr Johnson still has any grip on power.

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