Boris Johnson has been accused of abandoning a pledge to boost broadband for millions of Brits – as providers prepare the biggest price hike in 30 years.
The Prime Minister’s 2019 Conservative manifesto vowed to bring "full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband" to every home and business across the UK by 2025.
But within months he quietly shelved the plans, replacing it with a promise to provide “a minimum of 85%” of homes with gigabit broadband by that date.
Now new research by the Liberal Democrats claims that the Tory leader is even failing to meet his watered down promise.
Only one in eight constituencies across England, Scotland and Wales have 85% or more
gigabit broadband coverage heading into 2022, analysis of House of Commons Library data has found.
Meanwhile, in one in six areas fewer than 10% of households can access gigabit broadband, while no major nation or region in the UK is yet to reach the 85% target.
The areas with the lowest proportion of households with gigabit broadband are Blackpool South (0.8%), Poole (0.9%), Luton North (1%), Hazel Grove (1.1%), and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (1.6%).
Lib Dems leader Ed Davey said: “The Government is lagging behind on their promise to supercharge speeds across the country.
“Millions are stuck in the digital slow lane and paying through the nose for patchy broadband
“Once again Boris Johnson is breaking his promises and taking people for granted.
“Thousands of homes in forgotten rural communities can’t even get the bare minimum speeds, making a mockery of the Conservatives’ pledges to level up the country.”
It comes as the cost of broadband is set to skyrocket in April, with many big providers such as Vodafone, Plusnet and EE announcing their prices will go up by 9.3% in line with CPI inflation of 5.4% in December - the biggest rise in almost thirty years.
Mr Davey said: “This pandemic has shown how vital access to broadband is for learning, for work and for staying connected. But families are now just months away from seeing crippling hikes to their broadband bills, coming on top of tax raids and soaring energy prices.
“Ministers must throw families a lifeline, including through cheaper broadband bills, instead of standing by while the cost of living crisis bites.”
