Burnham cuts VAT on electricity bills in first major policy announcement – UK politics live

Move is expected to save households around £45 a year in effort to tackle cost of living

Burnham to cut VAT on electricity bills in first cost-of-living move

The newly appointed business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, has defended the policy, declaring the cut to VAT on electricity bills “a statement of priorities”.

Responding to Darren Jones’s claim that the cut remained unfunded, Reynolds told Radio 4’s Today programme:

They are part of the government’s pressure, it is a legitimate decision to remove that pressure and instead use the allocation of resources … It’s a straightforward switch spend, it’s the right decision to make, and one that will be made by the British people.