CONSUMER champion Martin Lewis has fumed at the Government’s suggestion that little can be done about the energy crisis until Boris Johnson’s successor is appointed.
This comes as it has been revealed that six million homes across the UK owe an average of £206 to their energy provider, according to a survey from Uswitch.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Lewis was asked by presenter Charlotte Hawkins about the Government being adamant that decisions cannot be made until either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak becomes prime minister.
Lewis said: “What a load of bull. That’s complete bull. I won’t use the final word on the back of it, that is just simply not true.
READ MORE: Energy bosses set to meet with Nadhim Zahawi as prices soar
“Let’s be very plain. In May, when the Government was facing political problems due to Boris Johnson, they were planning to make announcements on energy in July and August.
“That was brought forward in May and the mechanism for bringing it forward in May is they asked Ofgem to publish forward guidance of what the price cap would be and they were therefore able to crystalise what was happening and they made the announcements of the up to £1200 available for the poorest homes.
“There is absolutely nothing stopping the Government doing that now.”
In July, the SNP slammed Tory leadership contenders Sunak and Truss for their “shameful” failure to set out clear plans on how they will tackle the energy crisis.
Energy sector bosses are now set to take part in crisis talks with Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi as the price cap is expected to hit more than £4200 in January.
Lewis continued: “We have a party in government that controls the majority of the House of Commons, that’s how our political system works.
“The fact that there is internecine warfare between two candidates to lead that party does not stop the Government doing anything.
Charlotte Hawkins: The govt are adamant that nothing can be done until the new PM comes in?
— Haggis_UK 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 (@Haggis_UK) August 10, 2022
Martin Lewis: What a load of bull, that's complete bull.. that's simply not true.. this is a national crisis on the scale of the pandemic.. the govt is sitting there like zombies#GMB pic.twitter.com/Ers6KISrqZ
“Those two candidates could make an agreement of what’s going to happen so the idea that they can’t do anything is wrong.”
On Monday, Nicola Sturgeon called on Boris Johnson to hold an emergency four-nation meeting to tackle the cost of living crisis.
Lewis added: “They [Truss and Sunak] are not willing to do anything. They are not willing to work together and what we have right now is a national crisis coming on the scale of the pandemic.
READ MORE: Energy crisis: Households across UK owe £1.3bn to energy supply firms
“This is absolutely catastrophic and for a government to sit there like Zombies saying we can’t do anything.
“Well when you run an organisation which I have done and many other people have done, when you know there is a crisis of magnificent proportions coming, you do not say ‘oh we’ll just have to wait until we’ve got a change in our leadership,’ you start dealing with it now.
“It is awful what is coming.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel