Boris Johnson’s promise that household gas bills will be cheaper after Brexit has turned out to be hot air following a record hike in the energy price cap.

Tens of millions of homes across Britain face paying around £700 a year more for gas and electricity from April.

Regulator Ofgem has announced that it is raising the energy price cap – which limits the rate suppliers can charge – by 54%.

The increase means that the average household will end up paying £1,971 a year for energy – almost double what bills were just a year ago.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a series of policies aimed at helping people with the cost of living crisis.

But critics say the measures don’t got far enough, with campaigners warning many families will be forced to choose between heat and food.

Stocking the outrage is a previous promise made by the prime minister himself that household bills would be cheaper after Brexit.

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‘It isn’t right that unelected bureaucrats in Brussels impose taxes on the poorest while elected British politicians can do nothing about it.’ 

Remainers dismissed the claims at the time, with then Chancellor George Osborne and former PM David Cameron branding it ‘fantasy economics’.

The UK officially left the EU on January 31 2020.

Two years later, VAT on domestic fuel bills in the UK remains at 5%.

Campaigners and opposition MPs had urged the government to slash the tax ahead of Ofgem’s announcement to relieve financial pressure on families.

But ministers were reluctant to do so, arguing reducing VAT on energy bills to zero would benefit richer households, who have bigger homes and spend more on domestic fuel.

The new energy cap follows months of rising wholesale energy prices that have pushed dozens of energy companies out of business.

Those in the industry have complained that the price cap has been set too low and they were effectively losing money for every customer.

In his announcement today, Rishi Suank said a one-off discount of £200 will be given to every home to help mitigate the worst of the £693 rise in energy bills.

Around 80% of all households will also be given a £150 council tax rebate, meaning a total of £350 is available in Government support.

Energy suppliers will apply the discount on people’s bills from October with the Government meeting the cost in full, the chancellor told MPs.

But it will have to be automatically repaid from people’s bills £40 instalments over the next five years.

The council tax rebate won’t need to be paid back and Mr Sunak stressed it will go to people on middle incomes as well as the poorest because ‘a lot of people are struggling right now’.

But Labour, which has proposed a Windfall tax on gas and oil profits, criticised the package.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said millions of people are cutting back spending to pay bills, telling the Commons: ‘What do the Government offer? A buy now, pay later scheme that loads up costs for tomorrow.’

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