How the Government can help families and businesses across Yorkshire that are being hit by the energy crisis - Rachel Reeves

As children prepare to head back to school, I know parents will already be stressing about how to make sure there’s food on the table and enough funds to pay for winter coats.

In the face of what has become a national energy emergency, there really is no more time left to act.

Yet shamefully, all we’ve had is a Prime Minister who has had his out of office on for months – and a summer of infighting from a Tory leadership race completely detached from the reality many families in Yorkshire face.

It’s beyond reproach that we’ve heard every policy under the sun discussed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak except the cost of living crisis.

Labour would face this national emergency head on, right now.

Two weeks ago, we announced a fully-funded plan to freeze energy prices so that households across Yorkshire don’t pay a penny more this winter.

That’s a plan paid for by an extension of the windfall tax on oil and gas profits – eye-wateringly high profits which has left some oil executives saying they have more money than they know what to do with.

Our plan includes keeping extra targeted payments for those on benefits, with disabilities and pensioners, and it ends the unfair penalty premium facing those who use prepayment metres – often those on the lowest incomes.

But crucially – with two thirds of households predicted to fall into fuel poverty by January – our plan also reaches the many people in the middle who previously never struggled with bills but face an extremely bleak winter.

With everyone feeling the hit, the average household in Yorkshire will save £1,000 on their energy bills because of Labour’s price cap freeze.

Families across Yorkshire will feel the benefit of £2.1bn from our plan.

And with estimations that three out of every four single pensioners could fall into fuel poverty, our plan would save a pensioner around 26p for every £1 of their pension they receive this winter.

I’ve met so many older people in my own constituency that have spent too many days last winter – never mind the one ahead – with the heating off, eating food cold to save costs.

I know it’s not just families, but businesses too feeling the hit.

From Leeds to Scarborough, from Doncaster to Dewsbury businesses are getting to the point where they feel they can no longer absorb these soaring bills.

That’s why Labour is also calling on the government to cut business rates now by changing the thresholds so small businesses can save up to £5,000 this year. We’d pay for that by raising the Digital Services Tax on online giants for one year.

And it’s why our energy package also includes £1bn earmarked for energy intensive industries from steel to ceramics, who badly need extra support to stop them from collapsing.

Supporting our businesses and ensuring energy bills don’t go up will provide welcome relief to so many across Yorkshire.

But it’s only the first part of our much bigger plans to ensure bills come down in the long term as well.

As Keir Starmer announced a year ago, Labour’s Warm Homes Plan will insulate two million homes a year, reduce the amount of energy we consume and get bills back under control.

By insulating homes in Yorkshire, we can get bills down by £1,000 for the average household - not just for one year but for every year in the future too.

And in future we’ll also invest more in sustainable, British energy sources that mean we won’t have to rely on expensive fossil fuels imported from round the world.

I saw first hand this week, the huge potential that renewables hold for jobs and for our energy security, when I visited an offshore wind farm in Fife.

Here the turbines provide good local jobs, and create huge amounts of home-grown cheap, clean energy.

We’ve already got some brilliant renewable projects across Yorkshire, but there’s so much potential to untap.

After a busy year in Parliament, I’ve loved having a bit of time this summer to enjoy Yorkshire’s beautiful nature spots with my family, including Hackfall Wood in Harrogate, Hardcastle Craggs near Hebden Bridge, the gardens at Harlow Carr and the museums and galleries in Leeds.

When I’m back at home in Leeds West, and running to try and get fit, I’ve enjoying the views in West Leeds and Pudsey's parks and hills as my backdrop.

It’s heartening to know that from our coastlines which could host tidal power, to our hills that could home wind farms, that the natural beauty of Yorkshire is also a crucial part of tackling climate change and protecting nature in the long run too.

There is so much we can do to build energy security and a stronger economy for our future, but we must grab hold of the crisis we face now.

Any more dither and delay from the Tories is wrong and will hurt households.

We asked them to bring back parliament early two weeks ago so we could freeze the energy price cap before Ofgem’s announcement last week, but they refused to act.

By failing to get into gear, the government is choosing to protect the profits of oil and gas firms with booming profits over people struggling with bills.

That is why when Liz Truss almost certainly walks into Downing Street on Monday, the first thing she must do is to urgently adopt Labour’s plan to protect families in Yorkshire - and freeze the energy price cap now.

Rachel Reeves is the Shadow Chancellor and MP for Leeds West.