Harborough MP says local homeowners will need support during energy price hike

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien has hit out at the cost of living crisis, saying constituents will be forced into fuel poverty.

It comes following soaring energy costs with bills currently at an average of £1,971 and set to rise to £3,549 in October.

The MP says government needs to tackle the crisis by supporting those on benefits and others who will struggle to pay the rising costs.

He told the Mail: “I will be pressing the new Prime Minister to act on the cost of living crisis and energy security.

“Many households in Harborough will need help if they are not to go bust during this energy price spike. Following his invasion of Ukraine, Putin has deliberately reduced the flow of gas into Europe to try and break the willingness of the West to stand up to him.

“Given how high prices are going, it isn’t just households on benefits that will need help either, but working families and pensioners who simply won’t be able to afford the kind of bills we are now looking at.

“The new PM and Chancellor need to think of this like the furlough scheme during Covid – huge numbers of families and local businesses will need some help from the government for as long as the war goes on.

“We must also use this moment to get on and take the long term decisions that will reduce our dependence on Putin and other tyrants in the future, from insulating more homes to building new nuclear power stations so we can wean off Russian gas.”

It comes as Lib Dem Cllr Phil Knowles called on Harborough District Council to open up buildings across the district as ‘warm banks’ for those in fuel poverty to shelter in over winter.

It follows plans by councils in Essex, Sheffield and Nottingham to open up buildings to keep residents warm.

Cllr Knowles said: “This winter we might need ‘warm banks’ in Harborough district, which are the equivalent of ‘food banks’ for the support of the vulnerable, where people can’t afford heating. It would see the vulnerable invited – at no cost - to buildings where heating is available, for example libraries or public buildings like Symingtons.”