New plan to 'halve energy bills in a decade' backed by Harrogate MP in move to green power
Harrogate’s MP has attacked both Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch for what he described as their “ludicrous myths” about renewable energy.
Backing the Lib Dem Party’s new plan to halve the cost of energy bills for a typical household, Tom Gordon condemned the leaders of Reform and the Tories for wanting to tie the UK to fossil fuels which “would only help Putin.”
“The ludicrous myths peddled by Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch cannot be allowed to gain traction,” said the Harrogate and Knaresborough MP.
"They want to tie the UK to expensive fossil fuels and claim that bills would magically come down for everyone.
"Recent record high gas prices prove that isn’t true.
"We know that tying ourselves ever more to fossil fuels only benefits foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin.”
The Lib Dem plan, announced by Leader Ed Davey in a major speech this week, includes breaking the link between gas prices and electricity prices, so that people can enjoy clean, cheap power.
Right now, the cost of electricity is set by the price of gas 97% of the time – even though half of UK consumers’ electricity comes from renewables, which are much cheaper than gas.
Mr Davey said the new proposals would slash a typical household’s energy bills by £870 by 2035, down from £1,720 at the moment.
The Harrogate MP and his party are also calling for investment into cheap renewable power and home insulation to be accelerated, so households and businesses see the benefits of cheap renewables in lower energy bills.
A key part of the proposal is moving older, expensive renewable projects to cheaper Contracts for Difference, a move which, on its own, could cut bills by about £200 a year for a typical household.
Harrogate MP Tom Gordon said: “Families across Harrogate and Knaresborough are being clobbered with bills that are still more than £50 a month higher than they were five years ago.
"After years of negligent energy policies by the previous Conservative government, the Liberal Democrats have a plan that could halve the cost of energy bills for a regular household.”