Martin Whitfield MSP has welcomed his party’s plans to keep energy bills low and benefit all 2.5 million households in Scotland – including all off-grid households as equally as others.

In order to tackle the impact of the cost of living crisis, Labour recently announced they would bring in fully-funded measures to reduce the expected price rise to energy bills in April – saving most households around £200 or more, but targeted extra support to squeezed middle, pensioners and the lowest earners, receiving up to £600 off bills and preventing all of the increase in energy bills currently expected.

They would pay for this with a one-off windfall tax on North Sea Oil and Gas producers who have profited from price rises.

Labour have now confirmed that all 2.5 million households in Scotland will benefit from the plan – including all 417,000 homes off the gas grid and the 215,000 households who use heating fuels other than from the gas and electricity grid. Those off grid households will benefit by up to £600. This means that the estimated 6,000 county households off the gas grid, around 15 per cent of the total homes locally, would benefit from the plans.

Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“Households across East Lothian and the rest of Scotland are already feeling the impact of the cost of living crisis. But the triple whammy of an imminent rise in the energy price cap, real wages falling and tax rises coming down the tracks are going to make this crisis even worse.  
 
“That’s why I’m so pleased that Labour’s energy policy would help all households in East Lothian, including the estimated 6,000 local households not connected to the gas network.
 
“The Tory Government could bring in a VAT cut on home energy bills immediately if they wanted to do – it’s immediate, automatic, and would help households across our country feeling the crunch, especially pensioners and those on lower incomes. 
 
“It is not enough just to oppose this corrupt Tory government, we need to replace them – across the UK only Labour can do that.”

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Ian Murray MP said: 

“Labour’s fully-funded plan to save Scots on their energy bills is just one example of the transformative change a Labour government would have in Scotland and across the UK.
 
“Communities which have been left behind by the SNP and the Tories face struggling infrastructure and now, rising household bills.
 
“While the SNP is focusing on another referendum, and the Tories fight amongst themselves, we would help every household in Scotland with their bills. That is the difference Labour can make in power.
 
“The SNP is right to oppose Boris Johnson and the Tories – but Labour can do so much more than oppose them, we can replace them altogether.”

Find out more and back Labour’s plan at www.scottishlabour.org.uk/lower-energy-bills