Helen backs plans for ‘energy guarantee’ to ease cost-of-living crisis

North Shropshire MP, Helen Morgan, has backed Liberal Democrat proposals for a package of measures to help people tackle high energy costs and the cost-of-living crisis.

Helen has thrown her weight behind plans for an ‘Essential Energy Guarantee’, which would see households receive a basic energy allowance to cover everyday needs.

Helen said it was a “national scandal” that families were facing daily worries about heating and lighting and said the Lib Dem plans would see energy bills cut by £100, funded by diverting windfall profits from energy operators.

Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said: “For too long, Conservative and Labour governments have relied on short-term solutions.

“The Liberal Democrats plan for an Essential Energy Guarantee is a permanent fix that ensures nobody has to choose between heating, lighting and eating, saving the average household in North Shropshire £100 a year.

“We would force energy network monopolies to pay back their billions in unexpected profits to fund this support. I challenge Labour's leadership contenders to back our proposal and finally give families here the long-term energy security they deserve.”

According to House of Commons Library data, nearly 18% (7,859) of households in North Shropshire are in fuel poverty, struggling to afford their most basic energy needs, markedly higher than the national average of 11.4% (2,801,647).

To make matters worse, large numbers of households in North Shropshire have been hit hard by steep rises in the price of heating oil, impacted by Donald Trump’s war in Iran.

Helen has previously called for urgent support for rural and ‘off-grid’ households - more than one in three in North Shropshire and double the national average - after heating oil prices doubled at the start of the Middle East conflict. Liberal Democrats have proposed an energy price cap, to provide the same protection from soaring prices that help those on the gas grid.

Under the proposals, every household would receive a basic energy allowance equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption, at a discounted rate. The Lib Dems say this would save the average household £100 a year, while the poorest 20% would save an average of £140, and would help with the cost of everyday essential energy needs like heating, lighting, and running medical equipment.

Families would receive extra allowances for children, and the most vulnerable - such as people with disabilities or on the lowest incomes would receive the discounted rate on all their energy use.

The scheme will be funded by clawing back £5 billion in unexpected windfall profits from monopoly energy network operators.

Recent polling from Public First shows that energy bills are the living expense that households worry about most, with more than a third (38%) of people identifying them as their biggest financial concern.

The steps are the latest put forward by the Liberal Democrats as part of a package of policies that would ensure all new homes are zero carbon footprint, bring in a new home insulation upgrade programme, break the link between electricity and gas prices, and remove the renewables obligation levy. The party claims the plans would halve energy bills for families in the next decade.