Under significant pressure to intervene in the cost-of-living crisis, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said that the government will help households “where we can make a difference” and “stand by” the British people.
However, Sunak suggested that while the government would intervene where possible, Westminster would not be able to “fully protect” the public from the impact of inflation and that the economic sanctions ongoing against Russia would also not come without consequences.
The chancellor said: “I want to be honest with people that it's not going to be easy.
“I wish government could solve absolutely every problem and that I could fully protect people against all the challenges that lie ahead. I can't do that, but what I would say is I will stand by them in the same way that I have done in the past couple of years [through the Covid-19 pandemic].”
Due to deliver his Spring Statement on Wednesday [March 23], Sunak has been pressured by some Conservative MPs to cut fuel duty, with prices at the pump skyrocketing and the energy price cap set to rise from April.
Other Tories have suggested that the government scraps VAT on energy bills or looks at removing green levies on energy costs as a temporary measure.
On the opposition benches, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that her party would support a cut to fuel duty, as well as urging ministers to go further by issuing a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to subsidise energy bills for consumers, and by putting the planned National Insurance increase on hold.
The Bank of England has previously warned that inflation could soar to as high as seven per cent this year, with food, clothing and transport costs all on the rise alongside those of fuel and energy.
Elsewhere, consumer champion and personal finance guru Martin Lewis has said that inflation and the ensuing financial impact on households was surpassing even that of the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, and that he was “virtually out of tools to help people”.
Lewis warned that sensible personal finance management would not be enough for households to stave off the crisis and “political intervention” was needed to help.
Speaking to the same programme, Sunak said that the government was already “taking action” on high energy bills, highlighting support packages that had already been announced such as a £150 council tax rebate for residents of properties in bands A-to-D, which equates to roughly 80 per cent of households in the UK.
An energy bill discount of £200 will also be allocated to households in October, but this will have to be repaid from 2023 over a period of five years, drawing criticism from Labour.
Elsewhere, the chancellor has hit out at the decision taken by P&O Ferries last week to sack 800 of its crew members. He confirmed that the government is also looking into the legality of the move.
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons
