Martin Lewis savages ‘zombie government’ as energy prices spiral ‘This is desperate’

Energy: Expert says ‘people need direct payments’

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This came after consultancy group Cornwall Isnith warned that energy bills for a typical household could hit £4,266 next year. The estimate means the average household would be paying £355 a month, instead of £164 a month currently. The Government has confirmed that it will not intervene in the cost-of-living crisis until the new Prime Minister is decided on September 5.

The Prime Minister’s spokesperson said that, while the Government recognises the challenges facing struggling households, “by convention it is not for this prime minister to make major fiscal interventions during this period”.

They added: “It will be for a future prime minister”.

Hitting out at the decision on Twitter, Mr Lewis wrote: “Tragic news. The latest @cornwallinsight prediction, based on Ofgem’s new methodology, is an 81 percent price cap rise in Oct (taking typical bill to £3,582/yr) and a further 19 percent in Jan (so £4,266/yr).

“Action & planning is needed now.

“The zombie govt needs to wake up sooner than 5 Sept. These amounts are unaffordable for millions.”

He explained: “The Jan figure equates to 45 percent of the full new state pension, and a higher proportion of the old one.

“The rise alone on the Jan prediction, from when the help was first announced in May, is roughly £1,400/yr…

“That rise alone swallows up not just £400 help for all homes but even the £1,200 for the poorest.”

He said the increase in prices will “leave many destitute”, adding: “The leadership debate must not ignore this portentous national cataclysm anymore.

“An action plan is needed TODAY.

“They are all in the same party, let’s call on them to come together for the good of the nation rather than personal point-scoring.

“People’s livelihoods, mental wellbeing & in some cases very lives depend on this. This is desperate.”

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Earlier this week, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson to meet with his two potential successors to discuss a plan to tackle to cost of living crisis, before energy bills soar in October.

He said he saw poverty in his hometown in Fife that he “did not expect to see ever again” in his lifetime.

Mr Brown said: “There’s no doubt that people are going to go without food, and they’re going to go hungry and cold in October if we don’t take action now.”

He added: “If charities and organisations in the community are taking urgent action to do something, I think it’s about time the government responded.

“The vacuum at the centre of government really has got to end.”

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