Time to act over expected rise in energy bills - The Yorkshire Post says

The warning of households facing a “seismic” hit to their energy bills will strike fear and anxiety into those who are already contending with insecure jobs, the rising cost of transport and the need to feed their families.

Indeed, money saving expert Martin Lewis’s contention today that those hardest hit will “need to choose between heating and eating” almost has an air of bygone Dickensian plight to it – but it remains a reality for many and will become so for more if the situation is not addressed.

It comes as the Government’s energy price cap is due to be revised in February, with the increase put on to customers’ bills from April. Several companies went bust in 2021, with customers at other energy firms left to pick up the tab for the collapses.

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Now energy sector specialist Cornwall Insights says bills could rise by 46 per cent a year – a massive increase for those without the financial means to steer themselves through the vagaries of market forces.

Mr Lewis is calling on the Government to intervene, and it would seem that last resort might be the only suitable response at this stage. While Government intervention in the markets is not ideal, the situation has become acute –they will not sort themselves out and households need to see action taken in order to feel any sense of reassurance.

This undoubtedly piles pressure on a beleaguered Prime Minister, whose reputation for shirking responsibility increasingly precedes him.

Rich or poor, nobody likes an increase to their cost of living, meaning this issue is poison on the doorstep for Boris Johnson, who has been warned by polls that his capture of so-called “Red Wall’ seats” across the north of England is under threat.

That should not be the most urgent concern, though. Of foremost importance is the matter of stark choices families will be forced to make if this is not promptly resolved.