A top Tory has been ruthlessly ridiculed after a car crash BBC interview, in which he urged Brits to stop “scaremongering” about the cost of living crisis.
The cap on energy bills could top a breathtaking £5,000 next year, according to the bleakest forecast yet for struggling households.
Experts said that at Wednesday’s energy prices they expect that regulator Ofgem could be forced to set the cap at £5,038 per year for the average household in the three months beginning next April.
It is more than £200 higher than previous forecasts, which were already grim, and heaps extra pressure on households across Britain.
Auxilione, an energy consultancy, also predicted that bills would reach £4,467 in January.
This forecast is likely to worry energy users more than April’s higher number, as households use more gas during the winter months.
Sheep or leader?
But Mark Spencer, the Leader of the House of Commons, was widely mocked after his BBC Breakfast appearance on Thursday morning – after eagle-eyed viewers spotted a ridiculous lightbox on his shelf.
To the amusement of some – and annoyance of many – Spencer appears to own a sign reading: “Sheep or Leader?”
‘Still functioning’
The discovery of the ridiculous sign distracted somewhat from Spencer’s dire interview, in which he admitted that Boris Johnson’s Cabinet has not met since the end of July – despite spiralling fears about the cost of living crisis.
And, in another appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Spencer revealed that MPs are able to claim expenses on their energy bills in second homes.
For all the dire content, most viewers will have been left with just one pressing question: is he a sheep or a leader?