MP calls for the government to end ‘unacceptable’ fuel poverty in Leicester East

Thursday 20th January 2022 06:59 EST
 

In a letter to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Claudia  Webbe, Member of Parliament for Leicester East, has this week called on the government to urgently address high rates of fuel poverty in her constituency.

 

In Leicester East, 18.6% of all households - or 7,659 residences – are in fuel poverty. This has risen from 14%, or 5800 households, in 2019.

 

This crisis is likely to worsen due to the energy price crisis, as gas prices in the UK have more than quadrupled over the last year, and energy bills rose by an average of £139 in October.

Poorer households pay as much as 50 per cent more on their utility bills than the wealthiest. 

 

Britain’s poorest 10 per cent of households pay on average £756 a year per person for gas and electricity. A far smaller average of £504 per person is spent in the richest households with the national average spent being £530 on utility bills. The poorest households spend proportionately around seven times as much of their funds on energy as the richest households, and three-and-a-half times the national average

 

Claudia Webbe MP, Member of Parliament for Leicester East said, “Even before the current energy price crisis, an appallingly high number of Leicester East residents were forced to make the impossible choice between keeping their family warm or going hungry.

“The energy price crisis will push more people over the brink of destitution. This crisis is not one that will be felt equally. Those in poverty already spend the highest share of their incomes on daily essentials.

“Too many of my constituents are struggling to heat their homes.

“The government must take the necessary action to combat poverty and protect families in Leicester and across the UK. They must raise their ambition by setting a fuel poverty eradication target, as well as a commitment to end all forms of poverty for good. This can be achieved by raising taxes on those who can afford it most – the super-rich and big businesses. The nationalisation of failing energy companies must also not be ruled out.

“As we enter 2022, we can no longer live in a society defined by extreme inequality. The government must act now to prevent the further impoverishment of the working class. Ultimately, they must start treating endemic poverty as the national scandal that it is.”


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