An estimated 45 million Britons will be forced into fuel poverty and struggle to pay energy bills this winter, new research has found. Two-thirds of all UK households, or 18 million families, will be plunged into financial precariousness by January due to soaring inflation.
According to the study on fuel poverty by the University of York, the region hardest hit will be Northern Ireland with 76.3% of families battling to make ends meet, followed by Scotland at 72.8%, then the West Midlands (70.9%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (70.6%). The research, published by The Guardian newspaper, further stated that 86.4% of pensioner couples will fall into fuel poverty. Single-parent households with two or more children will bare the brunt at 90.4%.
The shadow secretary of state for climate change and net zero, Ed Miliband, responded to the report by calling for an energy price freeze to address the “national emergency” of inflation. The Labour MP wrote on Twitter: “These shocking figures show the full scale of the national emergency that could unfold unless the Conservative Government acts to freeze energy bills. We simply cannot allow the British people to suffer in this way. We need an energy price freeze.”
