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27
Feb 2023
Harrogate and Knaresborough Lib Dems call for government to step in on energy bills
Harrogate and Knaresborough Liberal Democrats have called for the government to cancel plans for a hike in the average household energy bill from April.
The call comes as the energy price cap is set to reduce from £4,279 to £3,280, but bills are still expected to rise by £500 to an average of £3,000 a year.
The government’s own energy price guarantee is expected to be less generous and a £400 winter discount is set to end.
Local Lib Dems have called on ministers to step in and offer a new support package for businesses, leisure centres, schools and hospitals across Harrogate and Knaresborough.
Tom Gordon, the Liberal Democrat prospective parliamentary candidate for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said:
The Lib Dems claim its plans would mean that in Harrogate and Knaresborough the average household would be £522.94 better off and would be funded by raising the rate of the windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms from 35% to 40%.
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt told the BBC this month that he believed the government did not have the “headroom to make a major new initiative to help people”.
Speaking after the latest setting of the energy price cap, Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:
The Stray Ferret approached Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, Andrew Jones, for comment.
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