FUEL poverty campaigners urged Labour today to get tough on tackling Britain’s broken energy system and sky-high bills.

Recent research by End Fuel Poverty Coalition found that the average household has spent £2,500 more on energy bills since April 2021 than had prices remained stable.

People are turning to loan sharks, millions are living in cold damp homes and many are experiencing a mental health crisis as a result.

Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said that the new Labour government has promised to lower energy bills, insulate homes and invest in home-grown clean energy while transitioning from oil and gas.

“But ministers inherit a broken energy system which has prioritised oil and gas company profits while millions of ordinary people have shivered in cold, damp, mouldy homes they can’t afford to heat,” he said.

“Lowering bills permanently will take time, but short term steps can be taken to help struggling and disillusioned households.

“The new government must earn the public’s trust by protecting vulnerable households, reducing energy debt, driving more onshore wind, bringing in changes to energy meters, ramping up insulation programmes, reforming standing charges and ending energy industry profiteering.”

Fiona Waters of the Warm This Winter campaign said the election results show that people have “seen through some politicians’ smokescreens and misinformation about net zero.”

She said: “We need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and the energy firms that have made £427 billion in profits in the last few years.

“We need to end energy debt, protect households from the energy market, bring down bills for good, improve housing standards and make Britain a clean energy superpower.”

Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said the new government must “get on with” rolling out renewables and insulating homes to lower bills.