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UK '2nd worst for fuel poverty'

The UK is second only to Estonia among European nations for the number of people who are struggling to pay their energy bills, according to research by the fuel poverty alliance Energy Bill Revolution.

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Government 'fall short' of solution to energy bill crisis

Our political leaders are falling over themselves to come up with headline-grabbing ways to cut energy bills yet they fall woefully short of a true solution to the energy bill crisis.

By far the biggest opportunity to cut energy bills is to fully insulate the UK's leaky homes. No other investment can do so much for so many.

If the Government is serious about solving this crisis they must make insulating homes the UK's number one infrastructure priority.

– Energy Bill Revolution campaign director Ed Matthew

'Woeful' levels of insulation blamed for UK fuel poverty

The fuel poverty alliance said "woeful" levels of insulation have led to Britain's homes falling "way behind" those of comparable European countries such as Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.

The alliance said the wholesale cost of gas in the UK was much lower than in most European countries but households paid much higher bills due to the amount of heat lost from homes.

Fuel poverty campaigners have written to David Cameron demanding that party leaders act on the "national crisis" of cold homes. Credit: PA Wire

There are more than five million UK households living in fuel poverty, defined as spending more than 10% of their income on energy.

The Energy Bill Revolution said it wanted to see carbon tax spent on an ambitious programme of home insulation, claiming that it could save up to £500 a year on a family energy bill and eliminate fuel poverty in the UK "once and for all".

The groups warned party leaders that focusing on "short-term solutions" to the energy bill crisis, such as price caps, windfall taxes and cutting green subsidies, they were "ignoring the only way to truly solve the energy bill crisis".

Read: David Cameron pledges to roll back green energy regulation

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UK second in European fuel poverty league

The UK is second only to Estonia among European nations for the number of people who are struggling to pay their energy bills. Credit: PA Wire

Fuel poverty campaigners have written to Prime Minister David Cameron demanding that party leaders act on the "national crisis" of cold homes.

Read: Sir John Major calls for windfall tax on energy companies

The UK is second only to Estonia among European nations for the number of people who are struggling to pay their energy bills, according to research by the fuel poverty alliance Energy Bill Revolution found.

Read: Energy 'big six' won't rule out further price rises

The alliance, which includes Age UK, Barnardo's, Consumer Futures and National Energy Action, has told leaders that investment in "super insulation" for the nation's homes is the only way to end the "scourge" of fuel poverty and the best way to bring down energy bills.

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