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Andy Burnham's VAT plan 'won't cut it', says Harrogate MP

Tom Gordon, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon says Prime Minister Andy Burnham's planned VAT cut on household electricity bills does not go far enough.

The Government has announced plans to remove the 5% rate of VAT from domestic electricity bills from 1st October, a move expected to save households around £45 a year.

However, the Liberal Democrats say their proposed 'Essential Energy Guarantee' would save the average household around £100 a year, with the poorest 20% of households expected to save an average of £140.

Under the proposal, every household would receive a basic energy allowance equivalent to 50% of average energy consumption at a discounted rate.

Additional support would be provided for families with children, while people with disabilities and those on the lowest incomes would receive the reduced rate on all of their energy use.

The party says the scheme would be funded by recovering £7 billion in what it describes as unexpected windfall profits made by monopoly energy network operators.

Tom Gordon has also argued that the Government's VAT proposal overlooks rural communities that rely on heating oil rather than mains gas.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for a three-month zero rate of VAT on domestic heating oil, alongside a price cap to protect households from sudden increases.

According to House of Commons Library data, 14.7% of households across Yorkshire and the Humber are classed as being in fuel poverty.

Mr Gordon said:

"We need to get money back into the pockets of people in North Yorkshire but tinkering with VAT on energy bills simply doesn't cut it. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the soaring costs families are facing.

"The Liberal Democrat plans for an Essential Energy Guarantee and calls for a three-month cut to VAT on heating oil would provide immediate and meaningful relief, ensuring that nobody in North Yorkshire is forced to choose between heating and eating."

He added:

"We may have a new Prime Minister, but Labour's blind spot remains - they simply do not understand rural Britain.

"Once again, households in our community that rely on heating oil risk being left out in the cold.

"Heating your home is not a luxury, it is a fundamental need. It's a scandal that 350,000 households in our region worry every day about keeping their homes warm."

The Liberal Democrats also questioned how the Government's VAT cut would be funded, pointing to comments from former Labour minister Darren Jones, who said on social media that the now-scrapped Digital ID scheme, from which funding is expected to be reallocated, had been "unfunded".

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