The Cut: Andy Burnham must back clean energy

• The price cap has risen to £1,862 thanks to our dependence on fossil fuels
• Andy Burnham will have to go big on clean energy to bring bills down
• Lower-income households pay more on levies than they do on vegetables

It’s looking increasingly likely that Andy Burnham will be the UK’s next prime minister. What does this mean for energy bills? Hopefully very good things because Andy Burnham on the face of it is a friend of clean energy. 

He did good things as mayor of greater Manchester, overseeing the community solar installation schemes and committing the city to energy neutrality. Does this guarantee he’ll be a champion of cheap, clean energy once in Number 10? Of course not, but we’re hopeful that a change in leadership isn’t going to stop the government from pursuing solar and electrification. 

In other news, the dreaded July energy price cap is now upon us. The average dual-fuel household can expect to pay up to £1,862 a year. There are signals that the next price cap, in October will come down slightly, but we won’t know until it’s announced on the 26 August. 

How can bills come down in the long term? The MCS Foundation says more social and environmental levies should be moved from bills to general taxation. They say bills would be cut by about 9%, on top of the £150 that were removed from bills at the end of the last Budget. 

According to the data, lower-income households spend more on these levies alone than they do on vegetables, which is a striking claim. There’s no doubt Andy Burnham will have a lot in his inbox, but getting the UK away from gas and our bills down long term has got to be at the top. 

What he must not do is fall for the easy political score of drilling in the North Sea, which will do nothing to bring down the energy price cap. Will Andy Burnham continue what the government has done? We’re hopeful that the answer is yes.

Will Andy Burnham cut our energy bills?

We say yes, based on his support for clean energy. He won’t have an easy job, but if he goes big on plug-in solar and resists any call to drill in the North Sea, he might just do it. 

Price cap increases to £1,862

We knew it was coming, and here it is, our vulnerabilities to the wholesale gas market have rarely been as obvious as it is now. How do we get it down? More clean energy storage and less reliance on gas.

MCS Foundation: Cut levies from bills and save billpayers £120

Lower-income households spend more on levies alone than they do on fresh vegetables. Yes, you read that right. If that doesn’t show how much energy bills need a shake up, nothing will. As it’s unlikely the price cap is going to come down any time soon, ministers really need to do more to help those who need it most.

Renault solar-powered EV drives from Land’s End to John O’ Groats

It has a range of 242 miles and can charge from 15% to 80% in just 30 minutes. On its journey, the Plein Sud EV visited several major solar projects.

Number of the week

£120

That’s how much billpayers could save if levies were taken off bills entirely, according to the MCS Foundation

Written By

Maximilian Schwerdtfeger Deputy editor

Max joined The Eco Experts as content manager in February 2024 and became deputy editor in 2025. He has written about sustainability issues across numerous industries, including maritime, supply chain, finance, mining, and retail. He has also written extensively for consumer titles like City AM, The Morning Star, and The Daily Express.

He has represented The Eco Experts on national television several times, including the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live and ITV Tonight .

In 2020, he covered in detail the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) legislation on sulphur emissions and its effects on the global container shipping market as online editor of Port Technology International.

He also explored the initiatives major container ports and terminals have launched in order to ship vital goods across the world without polluting the environment.

Since then, he has reported heavily on the impact made by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices on the supply chain of minerals, with a particular focus on rare earth mining in Africa.

As part of this, in 2022 Max visited mines and ports in Angola to hone in on the challenges being faced by one of the world’s biggest producers of rare earth minerals.

His most recent sustainability-related work came much closer to home, as he investigated the eco-challenges faced by independent retailers in the UK, specifically looking at how they can cut emissions and continue to thrive.

Max lives in South London and is an avid reader of books on modern history. He has also recently learned to play the game Mahjong and takes every opportunity to do so. He is also yet to find a sport he doesn’t enjoy watching.

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