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

The incident tells you everything you need to know about this Prime Minister. I don’t know what’s more insulting – his insincere apologies, or the sorry spectacle of Yorkshire Tory MPs standing by him lacking the gumption, spine and decency to do the right thing and give him his marching orders.

Not only has Boris Johnson sullied the office of Prime Minister with his lies and rule breaking, his chaotic incompetence his leaving families, working people and pensioners out of pocket at the very moment we need a laser-like focus on the cost of living crisis.

The simple truth is this Tory government has spent years cutting vital investment while failing to take the long-term decisions on energy supplies, skills and infrastructure that people from Richmond to Rotherham have been demanding.

That means today Yorkshire families and pensioners are facing heating bills going through the roof and prices rising in the shops.

Inflation will see pensioners worse off with the triple lock pledge broken and the value of their pensions are cut. Working families trying to make end meets while bringing up children – already hammered with a Universal Credit cut – will be forced to endure further cuts in support this April. All that’s before the punishing tax rises come in – tax hikes Yorkshire MP Rishi Sunak explicitly promised people he wouldn’t impose.

Experts predict that, on average, families will be worse off to the tune of £1,200. The Tory cost of living storm will blow especially hard across Yorkshire with families even hit harder – 1.3 million people in the region will struggle, with heating bills rocketing and the weekly shop on the rise. Almost a quarter of households locally are the very poorest who will really struggle.

From Pudsey to Colne Valley, Wakefield or Penistone, lots of people are already working all hours God sends, yet still have to pick up parcels at the food bank on the their way home from a shift.

It’s a disgrace and the financial pressures are set to get even heavier. I grew up on the other side of the Pennines in north Manchester. My mum, when she was in work, was a barmaid, my dad worked long unsocial hours in a casino. It was low-paid work, it meant we often struggled.

I remember when the electric ran out and we couldn’t afford tokens for the meter or we had to cut back on food in the fridge. Hardship humiliates and it haunts you for the rest of your life.

It’s what I’m in politics to change and it’s why I’m so angry Boris Johnson and local Conservative MPs refuse to take action. As Leeds MP and Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has outlined, measures can be implemented to help people weather the storms and give working families the security they deserve.

As a starting point Labour would axe the VAT on heating bills saving most households £200 or more. It’s something Boris Johnson used to say would be a benefit of Brexit yet now lies in tatters as another of his broken promises. Secondly we’ll invest in the modern renewable energy sources of the future which will not only help drive bills down but also brings more opportunities for skilled jobs.

But we need further immediate action as well. So thirdly the big energy firms should be taxed fairly on their windfall profits they are making. One of the big energy firm bosses recently commented they were making so much money out of the crisis that the firm is like a “cash machine”.

Enough is enough, Labour won’t stand for this when pensioners are shivering in the cold across communities such as Rother Valley, Elmet and Scunthorpe, unable to afford to put the heating on.

Instead Labour will fund and expand the discount scheme to help thousands of families and pensioners locally with their heating bills. This extra targeted support will mean up to £600 off bills for many struggling families and pensioners.

Twelve years of Tory incompetence has given us a low growth, high tax economy with working people, families and pensioners in Yorkshire paying the price Only Labour offers people the security they need as we build a prosperous economy for the future.

Jonathan Ashworth is a Labour MP and Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary.

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