Sir Keir Starmer looked rattled in an interview when pressed to stand by a promise he made before last year’s General Election to lower energy bills for British households by £300. In June 2024, the Prime Minister posted on X just days before the country went to the ballot box, saying if he was elected: “My Labour government will tackle the root causes of the cost of living crisis and help families save up to £300 off their energy bills.”
The now PM went on to win the election, but more than a year on, energy bills have continued to soar and Ofgem have slapped households with a further 2% rise from today (October 1). The increase, which is slightly more than analysts expected, means a household using a typical amount of energy will pay £1,755 a year, up £35 a year on the current cap. Latest official figures show struggling customers owe a record £4.4 billion to energy suppliers.
In an interview aired on BBC Breakfast this morning, Sir Keir said he was determined to bring energy prices down for families and for businesses, but looked uncomfortable when asked by journalist Jon Kay “what about the £300?”
Sir Keir had opened the interview by talking about the Labour initiative to offer energy bill relief to some poorer families this winter, with an extension to the Warm Home Discount scheme, which could cut as much as £150 off bills.
But Mr Kay said: “You mention the help for poorer families, but when you made that promise during the election you were talking all people, and you put a figure on it..”
Sir Keir attempted to interject, raising his hand and saying “no, no, no,”, before adding: “I accept that.”
Continuing his question, Mr Kay said: “You talked about trying to bring down families’ energy bills by up to £300 a year. In fact since you went to Downing Street, they’ve gone up by nearly £200 a year. So, there’s no way you’re going to be able to stick to that promise, is there?”
Looking down at his feet, the PM countered “yep, bringing down the bills by £150 is for a number of households…”, but Mr Kay was not letting him off the hook, asking once more: “What about the £300?”
The PM said bringing all bills down was “really important” to him and that was the “commitment” he made, before saying that a “large part” of the problem was “driven by what’s happening in Ukraine”, a war which began in February 2022.
“Bills are 75% higher because of the conflict in Ukraine”, Sir Keir said. But Mr Kay was quick to point out “but that had happened before you made that promise, hadn’t it?”.
Squirming under the questioning, Sir Keir said: “Well, I appreciate that. Erm so what we need to do is work with others to resolve the situation in Ukraine.”
Finishing off the round of questions on energy, Mr Kay pressed for an answer, saying: “Just to be absolutely clear, you are still sticking to that £300 promise?”
In response, Sir Keir said: “I want to bring energy bills down significantly for families by the next election.”
Trying once again to get an answer, Mr Kay interjected “by £300?”, to which the PM finally responded by saying: “Well, yes, £300 is the amount we put out there.
“I know the commitment I made and I am determined I’m going to bring those bills down because I know what an impact they’ve had on people struggling to make ends meet and living through what must seem like a continuous and continuing cost of living crisis.”