Labour’s promise to cut energy bills looks more foolish than ever

After reneging on its manifesto pledge to not raise National Insurance, Labour is starting to struggle with another promise: to cut energy bills by £300 a year. This morning Ofgem has announced that its Energy Price Cap will rise in January so the average household will be paying £21 a year more. Together with the £149 rise in the price cap in October it means that average bills will soon be £170 higher than they were when Labour came to power. 

Together with the loss of Winter Fuel Payment – either £200 or £300 depending on your age – it means that pensioners will be worse off to the tune of well over £300 a year since election day.

Bills will still be lower than they were a year ago, but movements in the price cap underline how foolish it was for Labour to make any promise on energy bills.