The Chancellor has suggested those earning around £45,000 annually could struggle to cope with soaring living costs as households prepare for another painful price hike over the winter. Nadhim Zahawi said things will be "really hard" for middle-earners, as well as society’s most vulnerable, as the energy price cap is set to rise by 80% by October, pushing the average household’s yearly bill up from £1,971 to £3,549.
Industry regulator Ofgem warned the Government it must act urgently to "match the scale of the crisis we have before us" as Britain faced the bleak news on Friday. The i newspaper later reported Tory leadership contender Liz Truss is set to give extra winter fuel payments to pensioners to ease the burden, despite in the past insisting she was focused on tax cuts rather than "handouts".
Her rival Rishi Sunak has already said he will provide additional support targeted at the most vulnerable. Mr Zahawi has declared he is working "flat out" to draw up options for a plan of action for the next PM so they can "hit the ground running" when they take office in September.
