Does Labour’s £29bn energy bills plan add up?

A six-month cap on gas and electricity would help struggling households but the plan is not without its flaws, writes Ben Chapman

Labour would freeze the price cap on households’ annual gas and electricity bills at the current level, which is equivalent to £1,971 for an average-usage household (Alamy)

Sir Keir Starmer has proposed a massive £29bn package to cap energy bills at current levels, which he says will help tackle Britain’s worsening cost of living crisis and bring down inflation.

The Labour leader claims that his “fully-costed” plan will reduce the rate at which consumer prices are rising by 4 per cent – a move that would have the added benefit of slashing the interest government pays on billions of pounds of debt that’s linked to inflation.

But do Labour’s figures add up and is this plan the best way to ease the pain of rising bills?