The leadership of Reform staged a petrol station stunt promising cheaper fuel and energy bills by attacking what they call “green levies” which are used to long-term heating and energy efficiency programmes.
As global gas prices surge following the conflict with Iran, the stunt highlights how Britain’s continued dependence on oil and gas leaves households exposed to global price shocks.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which campaigns to lower home energy costs, said:
“Scrapping support for heat pumps and energy efficiency programmes would lock the country into a continued cycle of high energy prices and fuel poverty.
“The reason households are facing rising costs today is because the country remains heavily dependent on oil and gas whose prices are set on volatile global markets.
“As the conflict in the Middle East shows, when tensions rise anywhere in the world the price of gas quickly follows. That is what pushes up energy bills, not investment in cleaner heating.
“The real way to cut bills for working people is to reduce the amount of gas we burn through better insulated homes, expand homegrown renewable power and reform energy pricing so households are no longer exposed to constant gas price shocks.
Robert Palmer, deputy director of campaign group Uplift, added:
“It’s clear that the only route to lower bills and secure energy is to free ourselves from oil and gas through homegrown renewable energy and upgrading homes, whether that’s with solar panels or heat pumps. This is just common sense in today’s world
“New North Sea drilling will make no difference to UK energy bills and have no meaningful impact on the UK’s supply of gas.”