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Energy bills to rise 65 per cent higher than four years ago

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/energy-bills-rise-65-cent-higher-four-years-ago

CAMPAIGNERS called for the government to reverse cuts to the winter fuel payment today, with energy bills set to rise by 10 per cent from next week.

Regulator Ofgem announced it will raise its price cap starting next Tuesday, pushing bills up from £1,568 to £1,717 for a typical household.

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition warned that energy bills will be 65 per cent higher than in winter 2020/21.

Millions have already fallen into energy debt, with Ofgem data revealing that the total owed has spiralled into a record-breaking £3.69 billion.

This winter, some 1.2m pensioners in poverty and 1.6m disabled people will miss out on winter fuel payments, making it more and more difficult for them to cover the rising bills.

The Labour government has announced cuts to the payment, previously available to all pensioners, limiting it to only those receiving means-tested benefits.

Comparison service Uswitch estimated that 752,000 older people will not use heating at all this winter as a result.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/energy-bills-rise-65-cent-higher-four-years-ago

Post author:dizzy
Post published:28 September 2024
Post category:austerity Austerity 2 Cost of Living crisis crap pretend Labour Keir Starmer Labour Party Neo-liberalism Rachel Reeves
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Labour Conference 2024: ‘Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two’

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/britain-needs-investment-not-austerity-mark-two

Delegates defy Starmer by voting to reject the callous cut to pensioners’ winter fuel allowance after Unite chief’s barn-storming speech

LABOUR conference defied Sir Keir Starmer today and voted to reject the callous cut to pensioners’ winter fuel allowance.

Delegates backed a motion from Unite the union demanding that the government “reverse the introduction of means-testing for the winter fuel allowance.”

It also urged Labour to scrap the “fiscal rules which prevent borrowing to invest” and introduce a wealth tax on the top 1 per cent and an excess profits tax.

In a barn-storming speech, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham recalled how the 1945 Labour government had rebuilt the country despite debt ratios three times the level of today.

She said: “People simply do not understand, I do not understand, how our new Labour government can cut the winter fuel allowance for pensioners and leave the super-rich untouched.

“This is not what people voted for. It is the wrong decision and needs to be reversed.

“We are the sixth-richest economy in the world. We have the money. Britain needs investment, not austerity mark two. We won’t get any gold badge for shaving peanuts off our debt.

“These fiscal rules are self-imposed and the decision to keep them is like hanging a noose around our necks.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/britain-needs-investment-not-austerity-mark-two