Tony Lodge publishes a report today for the Bow Group, showing how the number of households in fuel poverty has risen by 2million since 2004.
As the first frost of winter bites, more and more families will spend this Christmas struggling to pay fuel bills and consequently join the growing number of British households in fuel poverty. Against a background of rapidly rising energy prices, Gordon Brown should be praying Jack Frost doesn’t do his worst. The consequences of a cold winter for those on low incomes could highlight the worst social crisis to face Britain for decades.
More and more British households are spending a higher percentage of their income on energy costs. The number of households categorized as being in fuel poverty is expected to have doubled in the last four years, up from two to four million households. During this period we have had to endure the human tragedy, and political scandal, of Britain having 25,000 excess winter pensioner deaths each year as over 22% of older people have gone without gas or electricity in order to make ends meet.
Fuel poverty is when 10% or more of household income is spent on fuel for the home. It is reckoned that half of people in fuel poverty are pensioners, which should make these alarming statistics more pressing for the Government.
Continue reading "Tony Lodge: All hot air – Labour's failed strategy on fuel poverty" »