Energy crisis: UK households worst hit in western Europe, finds IMF

A woman protests outside Ofgem's headquarters in London in August. The UK relies on gas to heat homes and generate electricity and has western Europe’s least energy-efficient homes. Photograph: Rob Pinney/Getty Images

The energy crisis is hitting UK household budgets harder than any country in western Europe, according to analysis by the International Monetary Fund. The difference between the cost burden on poor and rich households is also far more unequal in the UK compared with other countries.

The reason is the UK’s heavy reliance on gas to heat homes and produce electricity at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine has sent gas prices soaring. In addition, the UK has the least energy efficient homes in western Europe.