Helen Morgan MP calls on business secretary to cap price of heating oil
MP Helen Morgan has urged the business secretary to introduce a price cap on heating oil to protect off-grid homes from spiralling prices this winter.
The North Shropshire MP has joined forces with fellow Lib Dems in rural constituencies to call for a cap of between 70p and 80p per litre after prices reached 95p in October.
In a letter to Grant Shapps, the MPs warned that thousands of people across the UK could face fuel poverty this winter due to the increased price of oil and other forms of energy.
Helen Morgan said that more than 20,000 Shropshire households who rely on heating oil due to being off the gas grid had been 'neglected' by the Conservatives.
They are among around 1.5 million homes that use heating oil in the UK and are facing an average increase in bills of £1,200 per year.
Helen Morgan, North Shropshire MP, said: “Rural communities like North Shropshire are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis but have repeatedly been neglected by Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives.
“Every week I’m contacted by constituents who are worried about heating their homes and feel insulted to have been offered £100 when their bills have increased by £1,000.
“They deserve support and Liberal Democrats have a clear solution: extend the price cap to heating oil.
"This could be paid for by a windfall tax on the huge profits of oil and gas giants that are cashing in on Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.”
The MP has also thrown her support behind a cross-party campaign calling for people in park homes – and other accommodation where residents do not directly pay their energy supplier – to be given access to the £400 support being distributed to everyone else via their electricity bill.
