Thank you for contacting me about the cost-of-living crisis and energy bills.

Since this crisis hit, I have been inundated with emails from constituents concerned about the impact on themselves and others in our community. If you yourself are struggling financially due to this crisis, or need help accessing benefits and housing support, please get back in touch and my casework team will be able to offer you guidance and assistance.

Constituents are right to condemn the huge profits made by energy companies, generated off the backs of the rocketing energy bills of the hard-working public. That’s why since the very beginning of the crisis, Labour has been demanding the government introduce a proper windfall tax on oil and gas profits, and not Rishi Sunak’s fake windfall tax that allows companies to dodge the tax by investing in climate-destroying new oil and gas drilling.

If we were in government right now, we’d be using that profits of our proper windfall tax to introduce energy bills relief and freeze council tax for a year. That’s an example of the different choices Labour would be making during this cost-of-living emergency.

The grim reality is that families and businesses are facing an energy price crisis because a decade of failed Conservative energy policy has left us deeply vulnerable as a country. That’s why, way back in March 2022, Labour launched a five-point plan for achieving energy security, avoiding future price shocks, and keeping bills down, including proposals to insulate 19 million homes in a decade and accelerate renewable energy generation. If the Tories had listened to our advice on this, since last year Britain could have insulated two million homes for those on the lowest incomes, saving those households over £1000 a year on their energy bills not just this year, but every year.

That’s why we urgently need a Labour government who can take control of this situation and provide households with the help they need. Please rest assured that I will continue to press the government to take action to help people get through this crisis.