𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Nigel Farage will pledge to scrap VAT and green levies on household energy bills if Reform UK wins power at the next General Election. Mr Farage and his allies believe the move will save the average family £200 a year. The war in Iran has sparked fears of rocketing energy bills, fuelled by Iranian forces attacking ships as they transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has effectively shut the vital oil and gas shipping route by targeting vessels in response to the US-Israeli air strikes, sending the price of a barrel of oil to more than $100. The Reform leader is expected to say a press conference this morning: “Labour and the Conservatives have pursued a net zero agenda that has only led to skyrocketing energy bills for working people.”

Reform’s Treasury spokesperson Mr Jenrick will add: “It’s outrageous that as people face soaring bills, the chancellor is slapping £200 worth of levies and taxes on the price of energy.”

Nigel Farage’s party is also launching a prize draw to promote its announcement, promising to pay the energy bills of the winner and their entire street.

A party spokesman said the competition did not breach electoral law.

“If people think there is anything improper in this, they should report us. They won’t because there isn’t,” he said.

President Donald Trump has called for countries, including the UK, to join a mission to protect shipping.

But Sir Keir Starmer, who has so far resisted the US president’s demands, said: “We’re working with all of our allies, including our European partners, to bring together a viable collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as quickly as possible and ease the economic impacts.”

The Prime Minister has acknowledged the impact of rising oil and gas prices on households in the UK, announcing his administration had issued a “legal direction” to energy firms to pass on savings from Government policies already announced.

And he set out a £53 million package of support for “vulnerable” heating oil customers, focused on “those households that are most exposed”.

He also raised concerns about claims that suppliers of heating oil have cancelled orders and then hiked bills as prices have spiked.

“I simply will not allow companies to make huge profits from the hardship of working people,” he said. “That kind of conduct is completely unacceptable, so if the companies have broken the law, there will be legal action.”

England will receive £27 million to support heating oil customers, which will be distributed by local authorities.

Northern Ireland, which has the highest proportion of homes reliant on heating oil of the UK’s four nations, has been allocated £17 million, Scotland £4.6 million and Wales £3.8 million.

The Treasury said the funding has been allocated based on census data, with the money going to the devolved governments to distribute.

But the Government was not able to provide an estimate of the number of households that would benefit from the extra support.

Further measures could follow if the crisis continues, with Sir Keir declining to rule out a more significant intervention once the current energy price cap expires in July.

Asked whether he could implement a similar policy to the energy price guarantee introduced by Liz Truss in 2022 at a cost of tens of billions of pounds, he said it was “not sensible to say within a number of months’ time, not knowing what the situation will be, that the following will be ruled in or be out”.

He said: “My instinct is always to help working people in a situation like this.”