A POLITICAL party based in Wantage and Didcot are calling on the Government to help South Oxfordshire households save an extra £2,076 per year.

The Wantage and Didcot Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to spare families from soaring energy bills by cancelling October’s price cap increase, accusing the Conservatives of “stalling in the face of a national emergency”.

The plan would save a typical household in South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse an extra £2,076 a year.

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The energy price cap is currently £1,971 a year for a typical household. It went up by £693 (54 per cent) in April.

The 70 per increase in the energy price cap expected to be announced by Ofgem later this month, expected to be a cap of about £3,400, would be cancelled with the Government instead paying the shortfall to energy suppliers so that they can afford to supply customers at the current rates.

This would mean a total estimated saving for households in our area of £114,871 off their electricity and gas bills.

The Liberal Democrats say the estimated £36 billion cost should be met by expanding the windfall tax on oil and gas company profits and using the Government’s higher-than-expected VAT revenues as a result of soaring inflation.

The party is also calling for more targeted support for vulnerable and low-income households. This would include doubling the Warm Homes Discount to £300 and extending it to all those on Universal Credit and Pension Credit, while investing in insulating fuel poor homes to bring prices down in the long term.

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It also suggests an emergency home insulation programme to cut people’s energy bills, starting with homes in or at risk of fuel poverty.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson for Wantage and Didcot Olly Glover said: “Hard-working families in Wantage and Didcot are already struggling to make ends meet and are deeply concerned about how they will cope with the predicted rise in energy bills.

“This Conservative Government is stalling in the face of a national emergency and, yet again, is simply not doing enough to put money back in the pockets of hard-working people.

“Countless families and pensioners across our area are already struggling, and they cannot wait for a new Conservative leader to act. 

“This is an emergency, and the Government must step in now to help families and pensioners here by cancelling the planned rise in energy bills this October.”

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Mr Glover is the new liberal democratic prospective parliamentary candidate for the Wantage and Didcot constituency and wants to improve poverty, public transport, infrastructure, and more.

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This story was written by Gee Harland. She joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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