Budget 2026: "This Budget proves bills are cut by policy, not drilling"

The UK Government announced its latest Budget today, including plans to give millions of households a £100 energy payment. 

Dr Anupama Sen, Head of Policy Engagement, says:

“Today’s Budget confirms what our analysis has shown: the levers that cut bills are pricing and policy, like VAT, standing charges and how electricity is priced, not new gas fields. The Chancellor says Britain missed the chance to save its North Sea wealth forty years ago. With Jackdaw, we’re repeating that mistake with the gas itself, spending one of our last strategic reserves before we need to.”

Cassandra Etter-Wenzel, Researcher, says:

Any measure to support families through this energy crisis and winter is welcome. Millions of households were vulnerable before this crisis, and this is only getting worse as the cold sets in. But £100 off a bill that the price cap puts close to £2,000 is a one-off, and it does not change the reality that most households in energy poverty will still be there after this payment. What they need is support built to last, like a social tariff.

"This is a good moment to learn from the 2022 mistakes. Using council tax bands to find people is a sensible start, provided the money goes to occupied homes and ends up with whoever actually pays the energy bill. But bands A to D cover nearly 20 million households, so that is not targetting in any meaningful sense. And it misses some of the most exposed: full-time students, who do not pay council tax, and vulnerable families in high-cost areas like London, where a modest flat can sit in band E or higher." 

For further comment, contact thomas.pilsworth@smithschool.ox.ac.uk