A SOLIHULL Councillor is calling on the Government to cancel plans to raise household energy bills by £500 and introduce a tax on the bonuses of gas and oil bosses.
Lyndon Liberal Democrat Coun Ade Adeyemo says the new energy price hikes will be a “hammer blow” to families and businesses who are already struggling and that action is needed now to save people from a “cost of living cliff-edge.”
Under current plans the Government will set the Energy Price Cap to £3,280 from April.
The Government has also announced plans to give £900 to help low-income households with the cost of living crisis from this spring.
Coun Adeyemo, the spokesperon for Solihull and Meriden Liberal Democrats, said: “The Conservatives’ plan to hike energy bills in April will come as a hammer blow to families in Solihull already struggling with soaring mortgages and rents, shopping bills and tax rises.
“With no plan to deal with this cost of living crisis for people or businesses, this chaotic, out-of-touch Government is instead making it much worse because the Conservatives just don’t get it.”
Nationally the Liberal Democrats are calling for cuts to people’s bills instead, combined with a new energy support package for businesses, leisure centres, schools and hospitals.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: “Rishi Sunak must act now to save families from a cost-of-living cliff edge, by cutting energy bills instead of increasing them. People deserve a fair deal – with a large cut to their energy bills, paid for by a proper windfall tax and a one-off levy on the bonuses of oil and gas bosses.”
