Lib Dem Leader urges Government to provide a cost of living package in the Budget to give Liverpool families 'breathing space'

Lib Dem Leader urges Government to provide a cost of living package in the Budget to give Liverpool families 'breathing space'

• Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, Carl Cashman, backs the Liberal Democrat call for an emergency cost-of-living package, as Government help for households times out by spring.
• The package includes calls for an Essential Energy Guarantee that would cut the average household energy bill in Liverpool by £100 a year, as well as a 10p cut in fuel duty, cuts to rail and bus fares, and a temporary 5p VAT cut on hospitality.
• The full plans would provide breathing space for the next 18 months, at a total cost of £14bn over the next year and a half, fully funded through a windfall tax on the big banks, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and extra oil and gas revenues caused by Trumpflation.

A cost-of-living support package would give families in Liverpool breathing space, Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, Carl Cashman, has said.

Cllr Cashman says households risk being left unprotected against a sequence of rising bills as key pieces of temporary Government support are set to expire by the spring, alongside an increase in the energy price cap in January.

According to official fuel poverty statistics, 14.87% of households in Liverpool, around 31,810 homes, are in fuel poverty, struggling to afford their most basic energy needs. That is well above the England average of 11.4%.

To protect household budgets, the Liberal Democrats are urging the Chancellor to bring forward an emergency package to provide breathing space for the next 18 months, at a total cost of £14bn over the next year and a half, fully funded through a windfall tax on the big banks, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and extra oil and gas revenues caused by Trumpflation. The three-point plan includes:

• An Essential Energy Guarantee to cut average annual bills by £100. Every household would receive a basic energy allowance, equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption, at a discounted rate, with extra allowances for children and the discounted rate on all energy use for disabled people and those on the lowest incomes. The poorest 20% would save an average of £140.
• An emergency transport package cutting fuel duty by 10p (bringing down prices at the pump by 12p per litre), slashing bus fares to £1 from the current £3 cap, cutting rail fares by 10%, and making it cheaper to drive electric vehicles by cutting VAT on public charging and reviewing unfair network costs.
• A temporary VAT cut for hospitality, accommodation and attractions, to rescue struggling high streets far beyond the Government's limited £150 million fund for music venues and pubs. The party also calls for an overhaul of the broken business rates system and the abandonment of the National Insurance Contribution (NIC) hike.

The party warned that the OBR's living standards forecast will set a definitive test that Chancellor John Healey will either pass or fail on 28 October.

The package would be fully funded without extra borrowing or permanent tax rises through a windfall tax on banking profits related to the quantitative easing programme, a clawback on energy network monopolies, and the recycling of extra oil and gas revenues triggered by "Trumpflation".

Leader of the Liverpool Liberal Democrats, Carl Cashman, said:

"Family finances in Liverpool are a ticking time bomb. A cost-of-living support package would give families breathing space, as more than 31,000 households in our city are already struggling to keep their homes warm.

"People cannot afford another Budget of timid half-measures. The Chancellor must act with an emergency cost-of-living package, starting with an Essential Energy Guarantee.

"The Liberal Democrats' plans would ensure nobody has to choose between heating and eating and put cash back into people's pockets in Liverpool."