CEO of National Energy Action: ‘Priorities are wrong, the government needs to sort itself out’

THE CEO of National Energy Action has blasted the government as millions battle soaring heating costs.
Adam Scorer said it was untrue to claim that Rishi Sunak has done all he can to support those fighting the cost of living crisis.
In an interview with GBN News, Scorer said: “Quite simply, no he hasn’t. He had a very clear decision to make and he was explicit about it. He could provide deep, targeted support to the most vulnerable and those on the lowest incomes or he could try and do a bit for everybody. He did the latter. It’s a gesture primarily.
“What he needed to have done and what he is going to have to end up doing is provide the deep, targeted support to households on the lowest incomes and the least efficient homes, to ensure that their household budgets are not devastated by the sorts of price rises that we’re seeing today and that we know we are going to see in October.”
He added: “Priorities are wrong, they need to sort themselves out. They need to understand what the role of the state is in moments like this.”
Earlier on GB News, pensioner George Ford shared his story as he struggles between heating and eating and has said he doesn’t expect to still be alive by Christmas as cost of living soars. This is something National Energy Action are familiar with: “We’ve heard it for many years and we’re hearing it more. It’s not just the cost of heating and the cost of buying food, people can’t afford to cook food. They can’t afford to heat water to shower or to bathe. They can’t afford to put the washing machine on, they can’t afford a warm environment for their children to study in or for friends and family to come over.”
Whilst the energy price hike comes into play today (Friday 1st April), there is another expected price rise in October that Scorer says will have devastating consequences. He said: “About 10,000 people die every year – mainly older people – directly from the impact of a cold home. Things such as strokes, heart attacks and respiratory conditions. It’s quite simple, next winter when the prices go up again in October, we will see more avoidable excess winter deaths.
“It’s hardwired into the situation we are in, and that’s why urgent support is needed now. It’s money in people’s pockets for the lowest incomes or money off the bills, but we need a plan for what we’re going to do before next winter when we are going to have astonishing levels of energy costs in some of the worst insulated homes in Europe. With the prospect of a cold winter, only one thing happens in those circumstances; people are ill, people’s mental health suffers and too many people die.”