This content was published on August 15, 2022 – 07:24 August 15, 2022 – 07:24
London, Aug 15 (EFE).- The Labor Party, leader of the UK opposition, proposed this Monday to freeze energy prices in the UK after sector regulator Ofgem expected bills to rise sharply.
Labor is proposing to freeze the energy price cap – the maximum companies can charge each household per year – which stood at £1,971 in April but may rise to £3,358 in October and from January for next year it is estimated to reach 4,266 pounds (5,050 euros).
Energy costs are the big talking point for British politicians, but Boris Johnson’s government did not want to prejudge possible measures to deal with the crisis until the new Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister – Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak – is elected next September 5.
The UK is facing a rise in annual inflation, which currently stands at 9.4%, but the Bank of England warned it could reach 13% by the end of the year and that the country could enter a recession over the last year quarter of 2023.
Labor is proposing to fund its energy plan – which would cover the whole of autumn and winter – from taxes paid by companies in the sector after they significantly boosted profits on gas surges.
The plan, which would only apply if Labor were in power, freezes the energy cap at currently £1,971 a year.
Speaking to the BBC today, Labor leader Keir Starmer described his proposal as “very strong”.
“Millions of people are already dealing with their bills, we all know this across the country and the increases expected for this October from a peak price of just under £2,000 to £3,500 and then £4,200. Millions of people are saying, ‘I just can’t afford that,'” added Starmer.
“We have a choice and this is really the political choice of the day. Either we allow oil and gas companies to keep making huge profits, which is happening, or we do something about it,” he said.
For Starmer, his plan has the advantage of curbing the inflationary crisis.
“Energy prices are a real inflation driver, this also ensures that we can bring inflation down to 13%,” he added. EFE
vg/pi
� EFE 2022. The retransmission and redistribution of all or part of the content of the EFE Services is expressly prohibited without the prior and express consent of Agencia EFE SA