For too many families, a letter through the door means another bill they struggle to afford.
I know what that’s like. Growing up, our phone was regularly cut off because it was the easiest bill to skip when finances were too stretched. So easing the cost-of-living pressures on hardworking families is deeply personal for me.
That’s why, this winter, we are going further to protect working people, giving almost 3 million more households £150 off their energy bills compared to last year.
Under outdated rules put in place by the last government, millions of people on means-tested benefits missed out on the support they needed.
But in 2025, six million households will get help with their bills. That includes 900,000 families with children, and 1.8 million households in fuel poverty.
But this isn’t just about numbers on a page. It’s about peace of mind.
It’s about knowing you can heat your home without fearing the next bill. And it’s about fairness — making sure support reaches the people who need it most.
This comes alongside a fall in energy prices in July, which will provide some much-needed extra breathing room.
But in the long run, we need to do more to keep people’s bills low. In this new era of instability, there are some obvious truths we simply can’t ignore. We can’t be dependent on foreign dictators like Putin for our energy.
We can’t ignore the urgent need to produce clean British energy here at home. And we cannot allow people to suffer in homes they can’t afford to heat anymore.
That’s why this government has set up Great British Energy, which will produce cleaner, cheaper British energy across the country, and creating thousands of jobs in the process.
From the £14 billion we announced last week for a new nuclear power station, Sizewell C, which will supply millions of homes, to £500 million in hydrogen investment, we are building the infrastructure this country needs to keep bills low for decades to come.
That will provide the security and certainty people deserve.
My government is rolling up its sleeves and bringing bills down for the long term, but I know families need support right now.
That’s why we are taking a range of actions, not just regarding energy, to put more money back in people’s pockets.
Free breakfast clubs in primary schools and free school meals for children whose families are on Universal Credit will save parents hundreds of pounds a year and set our young people up to succeed at school.
We’re limiting the number of branded items of school uniforms, saving parents even more of their hard earned cash. We’re expanding childcare hours to help families with the costs of childcare.
Because we took the tough decisions needed to wipe the slate clean in the budget last October, we’ve put the economy on a stable footing.
That’s paved the way for four consecutive cuts in interest rates, keeping people’s mortgages low.
It means we can raise the winter fuel allowance threshold for pensioners this year.
And it means we can now move on to the next phase of my government – investing in Britain’s future so that working people across the country have more money in their pockets and feel more secure.
These are all things we promised in our manifesto before the election. Now, we’re delivering.
This isn’t the summit of my government’s ambition, we’re just getting started. And we won’t stop until those cost of living pressures are eased.
But this winter, millions will feel the difference.
And that’s the kind of change my government is delivering for Britain.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk.
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