Money guru Martin Lewis last night warned the “zombie government” it faces “a national crisis” over energy bills on the scale of the Covid pandemic.
The consumer champion demanded ministers “double” their support ahead of expected huge hikes in bills in both October and January, when the annual energy price cap is forecast to skyrocket to £4,200.
Mr Lewis, 50, compared the devastating energy crisis to a volcano that is “exploding right now” and admitted “the catastrophe is bubbling up”.
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He said: “By January, some people will see their bills go from £800 to £4,200 [per year] under the same use – this is a national crisis on the scale that we saw in the pandemic.”
Ministers are set to hold crunch talks with gas and electricity giants today (August 11) to discuss plans to ease the cost of living.
But Mr Lewis said it was “government alone” which could help by putting “more money into people’s pockets”.
And he branded claims by the “zombie government” that it can’t do anything on the energy bill crisis until September as a “load of bull”.
(Image: GMB)
The telly presenter savaged Boris “Bozo” Johnson for insisting nothing can be done until a new PM is chosen.
Mr Lewis fumed: “That’s complete bull. That is just simply not true.
“The idea that they can’t do anything is wrong. They are not willing to do anything.”
He told ITV show Good Morning Britain: “This is absolutely catastrophic.
“For a government to sit there like zombies and say we can’t do anything…when you know there is a crisis of magnificence proportions coming…you start dealing with it now.”
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
It comes as a shock survey found that many people are falling behind on energy payments with total debt owed three times higher than in September last year.
And almost a quarter of households owe £206 on average, according to the research by comparison website Uswitch.
A spokesperson from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “We know the pressures people are facing with rising costs, which is why we have continually taken action to help households by phasing in £37bn worth of support throughout the year.”
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