Energy costs ‘set to go up again’, warns North Devon MP as he calls for bank windfall tax

North Devon’s MP has called for a windfall tax on the big banks to pay for an emergency 18-month support package for local households and high streets, saying he would like to see the government “go further” than its latest cost of living measures.

Ian Roome welcomed some of the “everyday fixes” announced by the Treasury on Monday night, October 26, ahead of the Budget on Wednesday, October 28, which will be delivered by the Chancellor, John Healey.

Mr Roome, the Liberal Democrat MP, told the North Devon Gazette: “Some of these steps will make a positive difference in North Devon. Ending the Carer’s Allowance cliff edge is long overdue, and cutting tariffs on fertiliser and heating oil should help our farmers and rural households.”

But he said energy costs were “set to go up again” and household budgets were “being squeezed from every direction”. “I would like to see the Government go further,” he said.

He wants ministers to tax the big banks’ windfall profits to fund an emergency “breathing space package” that would cut energy and transport costs and support high street businesses in North Devon over the next 18 months.

The phrase echoes the government’s own. The Treasury said its package was designed to give households “breathing space” with everyday costs.

Under the Carer’s Allowance change, unpaid carers will no longer lose their entire allowance for earning a penny over the Weekly Earnings Limit, which is equivalent to 16 hours at the National Living Wage. Instead, £1 of support will be withdrawn for every extra £1 earned. Carers UK said many carers had given up part-time work, or turned it down, because they could not risk losing the allowance.

The Treasury said import tariffs would be removed on more than 100 products, including fertilisers and kerosene heating oil, and that together with earlier suspensions households could save up to £21 a year on their food shop.

Other measures include a permanent tax-free mileage rate of 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, with the rate above that rising from 25p to 35p, which the Treasury said would help around three million people. Parental pay will be extended to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, and a Warm Homes loans scheme will offer low-interest and interest-free finance for solar panels, batteries and heat pumps.

Mr Healey said conflict in the Middle East and Europe was pushing up everyday costs for families. “We can’t control global events, but we can act where we can make a difference,” he said.

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, said the Budget on Wednesday would go further to give families and businesses “the breathing space they need today”.