Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood has said that Labour “wouldn’t let people pay a penny more” on their winter fuel bill as the party press home their plan to address the Tory cost of living crisis. 

The party’s plan to stop bills rising this winter would save the average household £1,000, get energy costs under control for the future and help tackle inflation. 

Labour’s fully-funded £29bn plan would prevent the energy price cap rising through the winter, paid for by an extra tax from oil and gas giants who are making eye-watering profits.  

It means that households across Birmingham Ladywood would receive £50 million from Labour’s fully costed plan.  

Labour would also reduce energy demand and lower bills in the longer term by insulating 19 million homes across the country over the next decade through Labour’s Warm Homes Plan.  

Labour originally urged the government to implement this Warm Homes Plan a year ago. If they’d acted, they could have insulated 2 million of the coldest homes by this winter – saving the typical household an additional £1,000 every year on their energy bills.   

Shabana Mahmood MP said: 

“Families across Birmingham Ladywood are so worried about how they’ll get through the winter, with gas and electric bills expected to rocket to their highest ever level. 

“Cabinet Ministers are missing in action and the Conservative Government has no solution to fix the mounting pressures facing households.  

“Labour’s plan to save households £1,000 this winter and invest in sustainable British energy is a direct response to this national emergency that is leaving families fearing for the future.  

“Labour’s fully-funded plan would fix the problems immediately and for the future – helping people in Ladywood get through the winter while providing the foundations for a stronger, more secure economy. Only Labour can give Britain the fresh start it needs.” 

Ends 

Notes to editors 

Stopping energy bills from rising is a fully-funded measure, with a total cost of £29bn. That would cover:  

• a freeze in energy bills for all domestic energy customers 
• support for customers not protected by the price cap   
• making sure the price people on prepayments meters pay for energy is the same as people who pay their bills monthly 
• and it would cover households off grid from both gas and electricity. 

Stopping energy bills from rising is a fully-funded measure. We’d pay for that in three ways:  

First, with increased tax revenues from oil and gas producers. Labour would close the Government’s absurd loophole in their Energy profits levy, backdate the start date to when Labour first called for a windfall tax to January, and accounting for higher gas and oil prices, would raise £8bn.  

Second, we would use the already-pledged £14bn of non-targeted funding to prevent bills from rising, giving people the security to plan ahead, rather than giving that money back in hand-outs later on.  

Finally, by keeping energy bills down, we’ll reduce the rate of inflation, leading to a reduction in government debt interest payments of £7bn.  

The Warm Homes Plan and investment in sustainable British energy would be funded from Labour’s Climate Investment Pledge, a plan to tackle the climate crisis, strengthen our energy security, create good jobs in new industries, and cut bills for good.  

Energy Security 

Labour has a five-point plan for energy sustainability and security, paid for by our Climate Investment Pledge. This plan would drive down bills in the long-term, deliver energy security and sovereignty for Britain, support good jobs in every region of the country, and tackle the climate emergency. 

1. Energy efficiency revolution 

• We would give devolved administrations the power and the resources to bring every home in their area up to EPC standard C or higher within a decade. 
• Our national plan to upgrade 19 million homes would: 
• Save families an average of over £1,000 a year off their energy bills 
• Cut national gas imports by up to 15 per cent 
• Support 500,000 jobs over the next 5 years 

2. Double our onshore wind capacity 

• We would establish a clear and ambitious target to more than double the current capacity to target to 30GW of onshore capacity by 2030, adding £45bn to the UK economy and creating 27,000 high quality jobs. 
• Bring forward planning reform in England, so that projects that are consistent with the UK’s energy needs and command local support can go ahead.

3. Double our offshore wind capacity 

• Double the national target for offshore wind production, taking fixed offshore wind to over 60GW by 2035 and floating to at least 15GW by 2035. 
• End the offshoring of offshore jobs with a Buy British policy, raising the requirements for domestic content so jobs go to communities in places such as Scotland and the North East rather than overseas. 

4. Commit to new solar, tidal, and hydrogen 

• Triple our solar power with a target of 40GW by 2030 in a mix of rooftop and larger field solar. 
• Harness the UK’s marine power potential, by returning to the case for a tidal lagoon pathfinder project, as recommended in the Hendry Review. 
• Raise the ambition stated in the Hydrogen Strategy for the UK’s hydrogen economy. 

5. End the delay on nuclear power 

• Bring forward the deadline for a Final Investment Decision on Sizewell C to the end of 2022, rather than waiting until the end of this Parliament. 
• Drive forward the development of Small Modular Reactors over the rest of this Parliament.