How Boris can really tackle the cost of living crisis

When it comes to addressing the cost of living crisis, the government has, so far, responded with a range of bad solutions. The energy price cap is being increased by £700 per household, interest rates have gone up for a second month in a row and the Bank of England is forecasting a two per cent drop in household incomes in real terms, the worst since records began in 1990.

In response, the Government has announced a package of confusing and ill-targeted measures. This includes council tax rebates, that will extend to some homes valued over £1 million, and a £200 discount on energy bills through loans to energy firms – funds that are meant to be clawed back from customers later when (or if) energy prices decline.

‘Socialists believe in raising taxes and then choosing to give it back in the form of discounts and rebates to selected people the government think need it,’ Conservative MP Peter Bone pointedly said in response to Chancellor Rishi Sunak.