Emma backed Labour’s plans for an energy price freeze today, after the Shadow Energy Secretary Caroline Flint MP set out the choice facing voters at the next election in May.
Emma explained that a price freeze would offer immediate help to every household in Shields, saving nearly 38,000 homes around £120 each.
Under David Cameron the average household has seen its energy bills go up by £300, four times faster than wages. Businesses are suffering too. A typical small business has seen its bills rise by £13,000. The Tories are not prepared to take action and would leave the energy market as it is, meaning prices will continue to rise and customers will feel the squeeze.
A Labour government would freeze energy prices until 2017, giving people much-needed help with their living costs. While prices are frozen Labour will reform the energy market so it is fairer for customers, breaking up the Big Six energy companies and forcing suppliers to be clearer about their prices so consumers are able to find the cheapest option for them.
Emma said:
“Energy prices are out of control, and people in South Shields are suffering as a result. One woman wrote to me saying she couldn’t afford to heat up food most days, and only turned her hot water on to stop the pipes from freezing.
“It’s clear the energy market needs fixing, but the Tories won’t do anything about it. A Labour government in 2015 would freeze energy bills for every household in Britain – a Tory government would let prices rise even higher.”
Emma has previously called on the Government’s Energy Secretary Ed Davey to introduce a price freeze. She also asked South Shields residents and businesses to sign a petition demanding that David Cameron freeze bills now.