Consumer expert Martin Lewis will interview Rishi Sunak following the chancellor’s statement announcing new cost of living support for struggling families.
In his annoncement the under-fire chancellor is set to ditch the previously announced £200 loan on energy bills and replace it with a grant of up to £400 that will not have to be paid back, according to reports.
And despite initial opposition from himself and other prominent government figures – such as Brexit opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg – Mr Sunak is expected to approve a windfall tax on energy companies.
Martin Lewis has been vocal in applying pressure on the government to urgently bring forward new measures to support families and has warned Sunak that the coming crisis will be worse for families’ wallets than the financial crash of 2008 or the Covid pandemic.
It comes after the energy regulator Ofgem announced days ago that the price cap is expected to surge again from £1,971 to £2,800 a year in October, in addition to proposed changes for a more frequent price cap which Martin Lewis branded a “f*****g disgrace.” He tweeted that he apologised for the comments made in a Ofgem background briefing.
In the run-up to Mr Sunak’s announcement, Mr Lewis said he had spoken to the chancellor this week to press him on the urgent support needed by the public. “There is panic and a mental health risk right now. Even if you’re not going to do some forward guidance of when action will be coming and how substantive that action will be will make many in the nation take a sigh of relief,” Mr Lewis said he told the chancellor.
Mr Lewis will put questions to Mr Sunak live on Twitter as well as asking him to field questions from Money Saving Expert users, and his social media followers.
The interview will be live-streamed on MoneySavingExpert.com from 5.15pm this evening. It will also be available live via @MartinSLewis and @MoneySavingExp on Twitter; Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert on Facebook and MoneySavingExpert on YouTube.
Labour's Rachel Reeves said the government had been "dragged kicking and screaming" into the U-turn.
The shadow chancellor added: "Why has it taken so long? Why have families had to struggle and worry while he dragged his feet?"
The government faced accusations that it had timed the announcement to distract from the release of the Sue Gray report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street during the pandemic.
