Ed Miliband yesterday accused the UK Government of planning to make taxpayers pay the price of removing green levies from energy bills.
David Cameron surprised MPs on Wednesday by pledging to “get to grips” with environmental charges which were driving up energy bills by an average £112 per household a year.
Downing Street did not rule out the possibility of paying for the levies with money raised from taxes or reductions in spending elsewhere.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg indicated that he was not willing to ditch measures like the Warm Homes Discount – which provides £135 a year to two million low-income families at a cost of £11 on average bills – but might be ready to shift the burden on to general taxation.
“What you’ll be doing if you just scrap it, if you just roll it back overnight, is you’d be hitting the vulnerable hardest,” Mr Clegg said.
“What I’m saying is, yes of course, this is what the prime minister and I will do in the coming weeks – look at all these policies to make sure that they’re value for money.
“If we can bring them down but deliver the same objective, let’s do that. We can also, for instance, look at simply paying that £135 to those two million lowest-incomes simply from government revenue instead of from the bills. It has to be paid for in one way or another.”
Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron’s announcement was a “panicked” response to his pledge of a 20-month price freeze if Labour wins the 2015 general election.
Speaking to small businesses in London, Mr Miliband said: “Yesterday in weakness and panic, the government made up a new policy on energy.
“Today, Nick Clegg has revealed their true intentions. To shift the burden from ordinary bill payers like you to ordinary taxpayers like you.
“Governments have always looked at this balance but this government wants you to pick up the tab for its failure to stand up to the energy companies. That won’t offer the real help that business and families need.
“They propose a panicked wheeze paid for by taxpayers. We offer a real freeze paid for by the big energy companies.”