Rishi Sunak will ‘make himself available’ to be PM says expert

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UK households were warned last month that the energy bills crisis could go on for another 18 months and could see more suppliers go out of business. Consumers are facing one of the steepest bill increases on record this winter after the regulator lifted the maximum level of its energy price cap from October 1 to reflect surging wholesale market prices. But energy bosses fear that the cap, which changes every six months, will not keep pace with the fast-rising market and could cause more suppliers to fold under an unexpected £4billion bill for the industry. As up to two million homes are expected to opt for a price cap tariff in the coming months, suppliers could lose £1000 per home.

The head of Scottish Power, Keith Anderson said: “Customers are going to get a huge increase in their bills next April, and in October, and I suspect that they’ll see another increase in their bills six months later.

“Moving the energy price cap every six months is just completely hopeless. We need it to start changing more frequently.”

The Green Party suggested last month that Chancellor the Exchequer Rishi Sunak tax landlords more in order to fund giving every household in the UK £320 towards soaring energy bills.

Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay spoke about the policy while opening their first party conference as co-leaders.

Costing £9billion, they said the move would be funded by a one-off one percent land-value tax on residential landlord properties.

Ms Denyer and Mr Ramsay argued that the policy would be “keeping households from falling into fuel poverty” and was about “keeping people safe [and] human dignity”.

Mr Ramsay said: “In the face of hikes to energy bills and rising fuel prices and to ease the burden on household budgets we’re calling on the Government to extend winter fuel payments with a one-off payment of £320 to every household to get us all through this winter.

“Our proposal is what the Government should be doing to show leadership. It’s an issue which shows how climate justice and social justice go hand in hand – something they just don’t get.”

Mr Ramsay added that it was a “costed proposal”, suggesting that it should be funded “from a one-off one percent land-value tax on residential landlord properties.”

He continued: “This proposal is about keeping households from spiralling into fuel poverty and it’s about keeping people safe.”

Ms Denyer also called for more taxes on wealth more broadly in order to rebalance the British economy.

She said: “We do not accept that inequality is inevitable, we say that those with the most should pay the most. It’s time to straighten out the tax system once and for all.

“That means that the richest people, the Covid billionaires and the biggest corporations, pay their fair share and income from wealth is taxed properly.”

In the summer, landlords in London were voicing concern over a decrease in demand for properties after the pandemic.

However, private sector rents in September were 4.6 percent higher than a year earlier at £968 per month on average, marking the strongest growth in 13 years.

Excluding London, rents across the UK were up by 6 percent annually, a figure which Zoopla said was a 14-year high.

Rents in the southwest of England were up by 9 percent annually, making it the region registering the fastest rental growth in the third quarter of 2021.

Gráinne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla said: “The swing back of demand into city centres, including London, has underpinned another rise in rents in quarter three, especially as the supply of rental property remains tight.”

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She added: “Meanwhile, just as in the sales market, there is still a cohort of renters looking for properties offering more space, or a more rural or coastal location.”

Commenting on the findings, Richard Davies, Head of Lettings at Chestertons, told City AM: “This continued surge in demand, especially in Prime Central London, is heavily impacting the supply of available properties to rent in the capital.”

“As a result, rents have risen sharply and tenants now have a much more limited choice than they did last year.

“On average they are only able to view one or two properties that meet their criteria, which greatly differs from a year ago when they were able to view at least five.”

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