London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Silly to boost support on energy bill now, says chancellor

Silly to boost support on energy bill now, says chancellor

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said it would be "silly" to provide more support to tackle rising energy bills now, before knowing what will happen to prices in the autumn.

Households faced a 54% hike in energy costs this month, along with record-high inflation hitting their pockets.

Opposition parties have called for an emergency budget from the government to focus on the cost-of-living crisis.

But Mr Sunak said he wanted to see what happened with energy prices first.

He pledged the government would look again at more support in the autumn, when the price cap - which rose by 54% in April - is expected to go up again.

Labour's shadow economic secretary to the Treasury, Tulip Siddiq, said the remark showed how "out of touch" the chancellor was, as people were "already feeling the cost of living crisis".

Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Christine Jardine called Mr Sunak's comments "tone deaf in the middle of a cost of living emergency".

The cap is the maximum price suppliers in England, Wales and Scotland can charge households for energy, and it is reviewed every six months.

Energy prices have been rising worldwide, driven by squeeze on natural gas supplies made worse by the war in Ukraine.

The chancellor made the remarks during a Q&A session with online forum Mumsnet.

During the 25-minute interview, he was asked by one disabled user - who relies on life-saving equipment at home - whether the government would offer more support to cover energy bills.

Mr Sunak listed policies the government had already announced for households, including the £150 council tax rebate to go towards bills, and said it amounted to £9bn.

He said: "Now I know people are anxious about this and wondering if they are going to go up even more, and I have always been clear from the beginning we will see what happens.

"And depending on what happens to bills then, of course, if we need to act and provide support for people, we will.

"But it would be silly to do that now or last month or the month before when we don't know exactly what the situation in the autumn will be," the chancellor added.

"So I'd say we'll see where we are with that if we need to do more."

But Labour's Ms Siddiq said it was "time to act", adding: "Families are already feeling the cost of living crisis, hit by record rises in energy prices, record high petrol prices and staggeringly steep hikes in the cost of food and essentials.

"With the chancellor heaping them with the biggest tax burden in 70 years on top of that, people are paying more and getting less."

Ideas meeting


Mr Sunak's remarks come a day after ministers gathered to pitch ideas on how to tackle the cost of living without spending any additional taxpayers' money.

During the cabinet meeting in No 10, Boris Johnson is said to have proposed reducing childcare costs by easing the rules governing how many children one adult can look after.

And sources said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested relaxing the frequency of MOTs.

But Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said the meeting showed the PM was "completely out of ideas during the most profound crisis in decades".

Sir Ed echoed Labour and the SNP's call for an emergency budget, including a cut in VAT, and backed opposition plans for a windfall tax on the profits of the oil and gas companies.

The interview was carried out shortly before Mr Sunak was cleared by the prime minister's independent ethics adviser of breaching the ministerial code over his family's financial interests.

Lord Geidt investigated whether he followed the rules and declared any potential conflicts of interest, after it emerged his wife had held non-dom tax status and he had held a US green card.

The adviser found all the interests above were declared by the Chancellor in 2018 and all - with the exception of his US green card - were re-declared at later dates.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×