Gordon Brown says UK needs emergency budget to combat ‘financial timebomb’
The government needs to set an emergency budget or millions of Brits will face “a winter of dire poverty”, according to Gordon Brown.
The former Prime Minister today said families are facing a “financial timebomb” in October as inflation continues to climb and Ofgem prepares to lift the energy price cap again.
There are fresh warnings today that the UK’s energy price cap will be increased to more than £4,000 by January, after it was £1,277 last October.
The Bank of England also warned on Thursday that inflation will hit 13 per cent and that the country will likely fall into recession.
Rishi Sunak today said that he would give out further cash grants to people this autumn if he is made Prime Minister, while Liz Truss vowed to bring forward wide-ranging tax cuts months earlier than planned.
Truss has also said she would have her chancellor deliver an emergency budget next month if she wins the Tory leadership contest.
Brown is calling for Boris Johnson and chancellor Nadhim Zahawi to immediately recall parliament to outline an emergency budget.
Brown wrote in The Observer: “The reality is grim and undeniable: a financial timebomb will explode for families in October as a second round of fuel price rises in six months sends shock waves through every household and pushes millions over the edge.
“The more the Conservative leadership election heats up, the more the remaining candidates have resorted to claiming the moral high ground.
“Raising debt is ‘immoral’, Rishi Sunak is saying. ‘High taxes are immoral,’ retorts Liz Truss. But there is nothing moral about indifferent leaders condemning millions of vulnerable and blameless children and pensioners to a winter of dire poverty.”
Truss has ruled out further cash grants to help people pay their energy bills, after the government gave payments worth up to £1,200 this year.
Sunak said Truss was “wrong” to rule out direct help for households later this year.