Conservatives’ energy plan gives wealthiest twice as much cost of living support

The wealthiest households in Bedford Borough are likely to receive twice as much support with their energy bills than poorer households next year, a think tank has claimed. The Resolution Foundation said if the Conservative government's energy plan goes ahead, richer homes will get support worth £4,700 and more vulnerable households will only receive £2,200. Bedford Liberal Democrats are calling for more targeted support for residents who need it most and for the energy companies to foot the bill through a windfall tax rather than burdening working people with huge debt for years to come.

The new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has recently revealed plans to limit energy bills to £2,500 annually and reverse the planned rise in National Insurance. The plans are set to provide substantial support to the richest ten percent of the country next year - more than double the level of support that the poorest ten percent will receive. The new Conservative government has made the decision to borrow money to fund the package of support, ignoring calls from the Liberal Democrats to fund the policy through a windfall tax on energy companies' unexpected excess profits. The decision is set to leave the country in huge debt that working people will likely to have to pay off through higher taxes for many years.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader Councillor Christine McHugh said "Whilst we are happy that the Conservative government are finally deciding to act to support people through the cost of living crisis, the details of this plan fall short of what residents need. We need a more targeted package of support so that the money goes to people who need it the most. This universal energy price guarantee means that people spending more on energy - because they have larger, more expensive properties - are going to receive much more support than low income households.

"The cost of this scheme is going to be huge, a more targeted approach would mean the money will go further and benefit people that need it the most. This is especially important considering the Conservatives' decision to make working people pay for this, rather than taxing the enormous profits of energy companies. The Conservative Party are not on the side of working people, and are instead choosing to protect excess company profits and executive bonuses."

The Cost of Living Crisis is affecting everyone and it would be really helpful to know your experience - please fill in the Bedford Liberal Democrats' survey at https://bedfordlibdems.org.uk/cost