We made a manifesto commitment to lower energy bills by £300 during this Parliament. While bills are now far lower than the high point under the Tories (remember when the price cap hit £4,279 in January 2023?) they are still too high and people rightly want to see the change they expected when they cast their votes last year.
The Tories failed to invest in homegrown energy, leaving us exposed to foreign oil and gas and meaning we were one of the worst hit countries by the war in Ukraine. It got worse when Liz Truss crashed the economy and inflation hit double figures.
Fixing the broken energy system they left behind takes time. We’re moving quickly to build up our domestic energy production and changing planning rules to allow us to build even quicker. Billions for offshore wind has been announced, we’ve ended the ban on onshore wind and we’re requiring solar panels on new homes. And let’s not forget the biggest investment in new nuclear in 50 years.
This will give us real energy security and help us stand up to aggressors like Putin, but this new energy generation will take time to end the link between our energy prices and volatile global gas prices. So we’re taking immediate action to bring bills down for as many people as possible.
We listened to the concerns and we’re reinstating the winter fuel payment for all pensioners earning under £35,000 per year. Thousands more pensioners across West Cumbria will now get up to £300 off energy bills this winter; £1,200 saved per pensioner by 2029.
Those in low paid work are also hurting. So we’re nearly doubling the number of households eligible for the Warm Home Discount by extending it to every bill payer getting means tested support. Thousands more families across West Cumbria will get £150 automatically taken off your bills this winter; £600 saved per family by 2029.
We’re investing over £15 billion in home retrofits and upgrades, saving thousands of homes in Cumbria hundreds of pounds. Allocations for each area will be announced shortly and I’m hopeful after months of lobbying ministers that we will get a substantial pot of money for Cumbria.
Finally, because our energy intensive manufacturing businesses are so vital to growth and jobs, we’re taking steps to lower their energy bills aswell. More than 7,000 British businesses will see their bills slashed by up to 25% from 2027.
All of this is a down payment on the longer term lower bills we’ll see for everyone as a result of securing our energy system and protecting it from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, giving working people the security they deserve.
The alternative is going back to the failed Tory policies or, even worse, Reform’s energy plan, which would destroy our domestic energy programme, put nuclear investment at risk and leave us reliant on expensive foreign oil and gas for decades.
Josh MacAlister MP 