Burnham plans to ‘rewire’ British state to improve people’s lives across UK

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “Andy Burnham is right that everything starts with a good home, but his plan to raise living standards has to mean fixing Britain’s coldest, leakiest housing as fast as it builds new ones.

“Breathing space for households now also is the right instinct, but this must include a proper energy debt relief scheme, a social tariff for energy and it has to be backed by a clear timetable, proper funding and a fuel poverty duty written into law, not just a 10 year ambition.

“Handing regions more control over energy only works if Westminster also fixes the problems driving bills up in the first place: the link between gas and electricity prices and our exposure to volatile fossil fuel market prices. That needs a permanent crackdown on the price shock profiteers and a radical Energy Independence Bill at its core.”