From the Chagos Islands to ‘windmills’ and sharia law, the US president’s comments do not bear much scrutiny
Donald Trump has been opining about the UK again, saying on Tuesday that Keir Starmer was “not Winston Churchill” and repeating his complaint about the deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Here are some recent things the US president has said about British issues, and how they compare with reality.
Continue reading...Households on a default dual-fuel tariff in Great Britain could cut costs by moving to a fixed deal
Experts have told households whose energy bills are pegged to the price cap not to “rest on their laurels” as they could save more than £200 a year on a fixed deal.
This week, Ofgem said the price cap in Great Britain would drop by 7% from April. This usually only matters if you are on a default tariff, but this time the reduction applies to everyone because the government is removing green charges from bills.
Continue reading...Consultancy’s prediction comes after Rachel Reeves said green subsidy costs would be removed from domestic bills
Household energy costs in Great Britain are expected to tumble by an average of £117 a year from April after Rachel Reeves announced in November’s budget that the cost of green subsidies would be removed from domestic bills.
The government’s quarterly cap on energy bills is forecast to fall after the chancellor’s decision to shift the levies used to support renewable energy projects into general taxation, and scrap a bill payer-funded energy efficiency scheme, according to Cornwall Insight, a leading energy consultancy.
Continue reading...Chancellor axes two-child benefit cap and cuts energy bills paid for by mansion tax and freezing tax thresholds
Rachel Reeves targeted Britain’s wealthiest households with a £26bn tax-raising budget to fund scrapping the two-child benefit policy and cutting energy bills.
On a chaotic day that involved key details of her budget accidentally being released early by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the chancellor defended the measures, saying she was “asking everyone to make a contribution to repair the public finances”, but that she wanted the wealthiest to pay the most.
Continue reading...Ed Miliband says pushing for renewable energy and lower emissions will reduce household bills and boost economy
The UK government will go “all in” on clean energy and climate policy, the energy secretary has said, as he unveiled plans to put the UK back on track to reach its net zero commitments.
In the face of intensifying attacks on climate policy from the poll-leading Reform UK party and the Conservatives, the government insists that pushing for renewable energy and lower carbon emissions will reduce household bills and boost the economy.
Continue reading...Competition watchdog agrees requests from Anglian, Northumbrian, Southern, Wessex and South East to raise household bills
Water bills for millions of households in England will increase by even more than expected after the competition regulator gave the green light for five water suppliers to raise charges to customers – but rejected most of the companies’ demands.
An independent group of experts appointed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) provisionally decided to allow the companies to collectively charge customers an extra £556m over the next five years, it said on Thursday. That was only 21% of the £2.7bn that the firms had requested.
Continue reading...As typical annual dual-fuel charge rises to £1,755, charities warn over record £4.4bn owed to suppliers
Britons preparing to ration energy as Ofgem price cap rises, says charity
What is the energy price cap for Great Britain, and can I cut my bill?
Three and a half years after war plunged Europe into an energy supply crisis, millions of households in Great Britain are braced for another winter of painful gas and electricity bills.
On Wednesday, the quarterly cap on charges will increase again. Despite a fall in wholesale gas prices, the ceiling for a typical annual dual-fuel bill will rise by 2% to £1,755 to help cover the costs of energy policies and network upgrades.
Continue reading...National Energy Action says 58% of households expect to cut heating use as typical annual dual-fuel bill increases to £1,755
‘It’s unsustainable’: homes in Great Britain brace for winter with soaring energy debts
What is the energy price cap for Great Britain, and can I cut my bill?
The majority of British households expect to restrict their home heating this winter to try to keep rising costs in check, according to research released as the price cap that dictates most bills rose again.
The fuel poverty charity National Energy Action said 58% of households told its survey they were likely to trim their energy use, a nine-percentage-point increase from the level in January.
Continue reading...Plans have provoked outrage from communities in areas of Great Britain expected to host new infrastructure
The government is pushing head with a plan to offer those who live near new electricity pylons a discount of £2,500 from their energy bills over the next 10 years to ease the backlash against its clean power plans.
Thousands of households within half a kilometre of new or upgraded electricity infrastructure could each receive up to £250 off their annual energy bill from next year to help speed up the rollout of infrastructure critical to the government’s targets.
Continue reading...RTS meters in 300,000 homes to be phased out rather than turned off on 30 June deadline
As the temperature climbed towards 30C the peril of turning off a system that could leave people with their heating stuck on full must have looked like an avoidable disaster.
On Thursday ministers confirmed the “widespread switch-off” of the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS), which controls an old type of electricity meter, “will not happen” on 30 June.
Continue reading...Ed Miliband’s looming decision on electricity market changes could mean regional bill disparities for households
Britain’s most senior government ministers could soon be drawn into a deepening row over plans to charge some households higher electricity bills than others, as Ed Miliband prepares to decide on sweeping energy reforms.
The energy secretary is understood to be close to making a decision on whether to move ahead with proposals to replace the country’s single electricity market with several market zones.
Continue reading...Poorer households shut out of heat pump market and grants should be increased to speed up rollout, thinktank says
Gas boiler fittings outnumbered new heat pump installations by more than 15 to one last year, and only one in eight new homes were equipped with the low-carbon alternative despite the government’s clean energy targets.
Poorer households are also being shut out of the heat pump market as the grants available are inadequate and should be increased, according to a report by the Resolution Foundation thinktank.
Continue reading...Keir Starmer has been dealt a fresh blow to his living standards pledge in advance of the spring statement
Living standards for all UK families are set to fall by 2030, with those on the lowest incomes declining twice as fast as middle and high earners, according to new data that raises serious questions about Keir Starmer’s pledge to make working people better off.
The grim economic analysis, produced by the respected Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), comes before the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, makes her spring statement on Wednesday in which she will announce new cuts to public spending rather than increase borrowing or raise taxes, so as to keep within the government’s “iron clad” fiscal rules.
Continue reading...Citizens Advice believes Ofgem made flawed interest rate calculation for companies in Great Britain
The companies behind Great Britain’s gas pipes and power lines have pocketed a windfall of nearly £4bn from household bills during the energy and cost crisis, according to a report.
The analysis, by Citizens Advice, argued that energy network owners were able to make the “excess profits” over the past four years after the industry regulator misjudged their costs.
Continue reading...Households face greater than expected rise in Ofgem price cap after Europe’s gas storage levels slump, analysts say
Millions of households face a greater than expected increase to their energy bills of about 5% from April after a slump in Europe’s gas storage levels caused market prices to climb, according to analysts.
The average gas and electricity bill for a typical household in Great Britain is expected to rise by £85 from April to £1,823 a year under the energy regulator’s price cap.
Continue reading...Call for means-tested grants or loans to cover upfront costs that prevent poorer households from benefiting
Poorer households could cut their energy bills by a quarter if solar panels were installed on their rooftops, a report has found.
However, the upfront costs mean that those who stand to benefit most from decreased energy bills are prevented from getting panels installed, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank.
Continue reading...Schemes backed by previous government to improve energy efficiency have left homeowners unable to sell
Almost 40 building companies have been blocked by the government from installing insulation amid a growing outcry over the profusion of botched jobs across the UK.
Ministers also announced that any homes found to have received botched insulation would have the issues put right by the installer responsible at no extra cost to the homeowner.
Continue reading...Trade unions body finds 17% have skipped meal in past three months, and as many as 10% do so most days
As many as one in six workers in Britain are skipping meals to make ends meet as households remain under pressure from the higher cost of groceries, energy and other essentials.
Highlighting the impact of the cost of living crisis on working households, figures from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) showed 17% of full- or part-time workers had skipped a meal to reduce their spending in the past three months.
Continue reading...Average annual bill in England, Scotland and Wales increases by 1.2% to £1,738 from New Year’s Day
Nine million homes will face higher energy bills from Wednesday as Britain braces for freezing temperatures and snow warnings for the new year period.
The average energy bill for households across England, Scotland and Wales will rise by 1.2% from New Year’s Day to £1,738 a year for a typical household after the energy regulator raised its cap on gas and electricity charges.
Continue reading...Green energy entrepreneur voices concerns over project’s funding and ‘spiralling costs’ of UK’s other nuclear plants
The government’s new value for money tsar has been challenged to examine the costs of a nuclear power station to be given final approval next year, as ministers attempt to shore up private investment for the project.
New nuclear plants are a key part of the government’s plan to have clean power by 2030. The Sizewell C reactor, billed as generating enough energy to power 6m homes, is expected to be given the final go ahead in June’s review of public spending. Its projected costs are in excess of £20bn.
Continue reading...