The UK national minimum wage and national living wage increase from today, 1st April.

Dr Daniella Jenkins, Executive Director at the Women’s Budget Group, said: “Today’s rise in the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage is welcome news for low-paid workers – particularly women, who are twice as likely as men to be in low-paid work. But while this should be an important boost at a time when every pound counts, the reality is that for too many women, any relief is likely to be short-lived.

Women: “the shock absorbers of poverty”

“From this month, households are already facing higher bills for essentials like water and council tax. At the same time, the war in Iran has caused severe disruptions to fuel supplies, driving up oil and gas prices, with knock-on effects for food and other everyday goods expected to follow. Families are already feeling the pressure of rising fuel costs, and further supply chain disruption risks pushing the prices of essentials even higher in the months ahead.

“We know from past crises that women are hit first and worst when costs rise. Lower average incomes and savings mean they spend a greater share on essentials, and the last cost of living crisis showed how women, as the shock absorbers of poverty, are too often left stretching budgets, hunting for discounts, skipping meals and going without to keep their families afloat. It cannot be women who continue to shoulder the burden every time the economy is hit by shocks.

“There is a better path. The government has shown it can act more decisively on the cost of living – through measures like capping rail fares and prescription charges. Now it must go further: preventing oil and gas companies from profiteering during yet another crisis by strengthening taxes on excess profits, and using that revenue to support households and invest in long-term economic resilience. By investing in the transition to secure, homegrown clean energy, we can protect families from future shocks, tackle deepening inequalities, and make everyday life more affordable.”

Energy price hike impending

While headline average energy bills will fall 6.7% to £1,641, thanks to action taken in the 2025 Budget, they are still £600 more than bills were in winter 2020/21.

From 1st July, Cornwall Insight now forecasts the Ofgem price cap rising to £1,929 for a typical dual fuel household, driven mainly by a 33% increase in the unit cost of gas. This is almost £900 above pre-crisis levels. It represents a £288 ‘Trump War Tax’ added to every household’s energy bill.

Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “The fall in bills from 1st April offers brief relief for households, but the respite will be short-lived. Given the ongoing profits made by the energy industry, households deserve more than a temporary reprieve before prices rise again.

“The Government must use the window between now and July to act. That means targeted support for those hit first and hardest, including households off the gas grid and those on heat networks, faster action on energy debt, and preparations to bring costs down if prices deteriorate further. 

“Increased Windfall Tax receipts from spiking North Sea profits should be used to fund that support. But beyond the immediate crisis, the only way to break this cycle for good is to insulate homes, expand homegrown renewables and reform electricity pricing so households see the real benefit of cheaper clean power.”

Robert Palmer, Deputy Director of Uplift, agreed: “The only way to insulate ourselves in the medium term from these risks is by doubling down on renewables, like wind, and upgrading homes with solar power and heat pumps, so we can free ourselves from oil and gas and ensure we have a liveable planet. We also need the Government to help billpayers and build on the current steps it has taken should the war and its impact continue.”

Solving the crisis

The End Fuel Poverty Coalition has proposed a series of steps to tackle the crisis. Immediate measures include a longer-term Alternative Fuel Support Scheme for households using heating oil, LPG and other off-gas fuels, alongside support for heat network customers facing rising commercial energy costs.

The group is also calling for a targeted reduction in energy unit rates from July if the price cap rises, faster rollout of a national energy debt relief scheme, and reforms to the Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments so support reaches vulnerable households earlier. Ministers must also accelerate electricity pricing reform and be ready to introduce wider support quickly if the situation worsens.

Jon Trickett MP pointed out: “The energy companies have been making huge profits. War in the Middle East must not become an opportunity for more profiteering. The government has the power to intervene in the market to keep household energy bills down.”

Labour peer Prem Sikka is also offering some immediate solutions. He is calling for the abolition of VAT on domestic fuel, a transfer of green levies to general taxation and a decoupling of the price of electricity produced from gas from the rest. Longer-term to end profiteering, the energy sector will need to be renationalised.

Last month Chancellor Rachel Reeves told MPs that the Government plans to help “those who need it most” if energy bills continuing spiralling upwards – while making no specific proposals. Today, in an interview on BBC Breakfast, she signalled that she would not intervene before the autumn.

Water bills

Meanwhile, water bills are up again – by an above-inflation increase. Clive Lewis MP tweeted: “Today your water bill is rising again, after a 26% hike last year on average. This is because the regulator is allowing extractive private companies to rinse the public.” He is calling for public ownership of the utility.

Prem Sikka agreed, pointing out that there have been 3,000 breaches of pollution laws  by water companies in England, more than 1,200 criminal prosecutions of companies, yet none have had their licence cancelled, no executive has been prosecuted and companies have been allowed to negotiate their fines, which are often waived or deferred.

Mortgages too

Around 1.3 million more UK households are facing a jump in their mortgage costs following the economic ‘shock’ caused by the conflict in the Middle East, the Bank of England warns. Keir Starmer says the coming weeks “will not be easy”.

But there are straightforward alternatives to putting the burden onto ordinary households, who did not start the current war and will benefit from it. One solution would be to make those companies that will benefit from the bloodshed and slaughter to pay more in tax.

A group of leading charities, campaigners and trade unions estimate the Chancellor could raise billions by taxing “excess profits” linked to the conflict. The organisations – including Greenpeace UK, the National Education Union and Tax Justice UK – said energy companies, banks, agricultural commodities businesses, defence companies and tech firms stood to financially benefit from the economic fallout.

Introducing new levies on these firms would raise revenue that could be used for emergency cost-of-living support and to invest in the future resilience of the UK economy against energy shocks.

Faiza Shaheen, the executive director of Tax Justice UK, who is coordinating the campaign, said: “Spain has already frozen rents, yet our government fails to show urgency. “The Chancellor needs to get a grip on the situation to help people already struggling.”

Former Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon MP agreed: “No corporation should be allowed to line its pockets from the war on Iran – which is already driving up costs for ordinary people. The Government must impose a Windfall Tax on any firm making super-profits from this war. And use every penny for emergency cost of living support.”

Imran Hussein MP tweeted: “Too many families are being pushed to the brink. That’s the result of political choices – and it demands action to boost incomes and properly support families.” He added: “A minimum wage rise is a step forward – but it’s not enough.”

Image: https://pix4free.org/photo/36555/cost-of-living-crisis.html. Cost of living crisis by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Pix4free