Rochdale residents ‘frightened and concerned’ over fuel price rise
Members of HMR Circle, have said they are ‘frightened’ after the cap on energy prices was raised 54% by regulator Ofgem which could see bills rise by £693
Photo: Peter Byrne/PA Wire
Older residents in Rochdale are ‘frightened and concerned’ by soaring fuel prices.
Members of HMR Circle, which provides support for older residents in Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale, have said they are ‘frightened’ after the cap on energy prices was raised 54% by regulator Ofgem.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said on average, people will be seeing their annual energy bills rise by £693.
The MP for Rochdale Tony Lloyd blamed the crisis on the government’s failure ‘to properly regulate the energy companies’.
He added that ‘many people not just at the most hard-up end of the economic ladder are now feeling the pinch’.
HMR Circle Director Mark Wynn said: “They’re frightened. It may not go up £700 but people are worried about where they are going to find another £700 on top of the increase in food and basic items costs.
“People are concerned. Pensions are fixed, you can’t take extra overtime to cover this or get a better paid job.”
“There isn’t an option B. You don’t want to be coming out of retirement at 80 to pay another £700 on your heating bill or on food bills.”
Mr Sunak this week offered consumers £200 off their bills from October in what was touted as a Government goodwill gesture.
But it emerged the deal is simply a “buy now pay later” style loan that hard-pressed families must pay back over two years.
The rise in fuel prices also coincides with the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Alongside rising food prices, the Bank of England has warned of a dramatic fall in living standards – with take-home pay suffering the biggest hit on record and inflation expected to top 7% in April.
HMR Circle members also expressed their grievances live on national radio last week, being interviewed by LBC.
“A lot of it is that fear of the unknown, people don’t know what’s happening,” added Mark.
“People are a bit worried about how much impact it will have and how much food costs will continue to rise. There will be some concerns and they have the right to be concerned until we get some clarity on the support on offer.
“Our members are quite stoic and resolute but you don’t want to think people are going to be sitting in the cold because they can’t afford the heating or have a warm meal. They are going to be making some hard choices.”
Rochdale MP Mr Lloyd said he was ‘angry that we have a Prime Minister and a Chancellor who are not prepared to act in the nation’s interest’.
He said: “The cost of living has been impacted by oil and gas prices, but also by the lack of planning by the UK government in recent years to make sure we've got stocks of gas, and the failure to properly regulate the energy companies.
"This means we are ill prepared and it will be customers who are paying for these failures.
“Labour has made it clear that there ought to be a windfall tax on the oil and gas companies who, through no effort, are making windfall profits.
"One company executive said his company is now a 'cash machine', but sadly he is right and it is the public in this country who are putting the money into that 'cash machine'.
“Labour MPs have asked the government to reduce VAT on energy but they refused. We have asked them to defer the national insurance rises, which will hit many people hard, but they have refused. Inflation is soaring, so costs are going up.
“Many people not just at the most hard-up end of the economic ladder are now feeling the pinch and they, like me, will be angry that we have a Prime Minister and a Chancellor who are not prepared to act in the nation’s interest.”
A Treasury spokesman said: “As the Chancellor set out, the reasons gas prices are soaring are global.
“No country in western Europe has been unaffected by the unprecedented wholesale gas volatility. It is incorrect to suggest the UK is uniquely exposed to it.”
