George Osborne urged to cut cost of living
TACKLING the cost of living must be made a priority in the Autumn Statement, leading think-tanks believe.
The call comes as soaring energy bills and petrol prices add to the financial burden on cash-strapped families.
Ruth Porter, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said: “Living costs are a major issue for families. There are some simple actions they could take, especially housing affordability, travel costs and energy bills. Motorists get an incredibly raw deal at the moment.”
The Chancellor, George Osborne, is due to make his statement on December 5. The Government’s analysis shows by 2015 climate change policies will have pushed up electricity bills by 26 per cent and gas bills 10 per cent.
Nick Faith, of think-tank, Policy Exchange, said: “There needs to be a renewed focus on cost of living. Reconsidering a fuel duty increase would be a good start. In the longer term, abandoning the EU’s expensive and unnecessary Renewable Energy Directive could save billions that could in turn be used to put pressure on the energy companies to reduce bills.”
There are some simple actions they could take, especially housing affordability, travel costs and energy bills
Funding the measures will be a challenge. The IEA says Osborne is on course to miss his 2015 debt reduction target by £22billion.