According to a survey, almost one in four people (23 percent) in Great Britain never want to turn on the heating in winter because of the enormously rising prices for electricity and gas. For people with underage children, the proportion is even higher at 27 percent, according to the study published on Monday by the market research institute Savanta ComRes on behalf of the opposition Liberal Democrats.
Most people – around 70 percent – want to turn up their heating less often. Eleven percent are considering taking out a loan. Here, too, the proportion is higher among people with younger children (17 percent). The survey of more than 2,000 adults was conducted before regulator Ofgem raised the cap on basic tariff energy prices by 80 percent on Friday. Experts therefore expect that the values should now be even clearer.
The Liberal Democrat Party warned that families would be forced to make “heartbreaking decisions”. The country is “on the brink of the worst cost of living crisis in a century”https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/. “It’s a national scandal that parents have to choose between heating their homes or feeding their children,” said the social politician Christine Jardine.
The Liberal Democrats, like the Labor Party, the largest opposition party, are demanding that the ruling Conservatives freeze price increases. Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Sunday that the new government, which is expected to take office on September 6, would introduce far-reaching additional aid for consumers. But he did not give any details. According to experts, the government measures taken so far are far from sufficient.