Tories pressure Boris Johnson to scrap taxes on rocketing energy bills
2 January 2022, 20:31
Twenty senior Conservative politicians have urged Boris Johnson to scrap taxes on rapidly rising energy bills.
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The MPs and peers have written in the Sunday Telegraph asking Mr Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak to help consumers facing "fuel poverty" as gas and electricity payments continue to rocket.
Among the signatories are former work and pensions secretary Esther McVey, as well as senior backbench MPs Robert Halfon and Steve Baker.
They argue that the UK is causing energy prices to increase faster than any other comparable country due to "taxation and environmental levies".
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"We hardly need to point out that high energy prices, whether for domestic heating or for domestic transport, are felt most painfully by the lowest paid," the letter states.
It argues that removing VAT on energy bills and environmental levies which fund renewable energy schemes could save the average household £200 on their energy bill.
Providers including Good Energy, EDF and trade body Energy UK have also urged the government to intervene, after the cost of gas in wholesale markets rose by more than 500 per cent in less than a year.
Read more: David Lammy: Scrap VAT on energy to fight cost of living crisis
Households are expected to see a severe hike in the cost of their energy in April as suppliers are due to increase prices in line with these costs.
More than two dozen energy suppliers have also gone bust since the start of September, putting thousands of people out of work and leaving millions of homes in limbo as they wait for a new supplier.
