After ruling out new and crucial support measures to help tackle the cost of living crisis until a new prime minister is in place earlier this week, Boris Johnson has since admitted that not enough is being done to support people amid rising inflation and crippling energy bills.

Asked if he believed the government’s package of support was enough, the prime minister told interviewers on Friday (12 August): “No, because what I’m saying what we’re doing in addition is trying to make sure that by October, by January, there is further support and what the government will be doing, whoever is the prime minister, is making sure there is extra cash to help people.”

Emphasising the measures his government has put in place, he continued: “The money has started to come through. I think it is very important for people to understand, most people have not yet received the help the government has already allocated, so over the course of the next couple of months you will see about eight million households get another £326, you will see everybody in October get help with the energy support scheme.”

“I’m not going to pretend that things are easy for people right now. You’re right to push me because we’re doing everything that we can,” he continued. “But there’s more money coming anyway, as a result of the decisions being taken, there will be further help coming in October and in the new year.”

Earlier that day, chancellor Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News that options to provide additional help to people to ease cost of living pressures will be “ready to go” on 5 September.

“My message to families today is: we will have those options ready to go,” Zahawi said. “Yesterday I met with the industry to look at what more we can do on direct debit, on pre-payment meters, all the things that families are worried about. We’re making sure we’re doing the work so on 5 September the new prime minister can hit the ground running and get those things into place.”

In response to the news that bills will increase to around £3,582 in October, more than 100,000 people have joined the Don’t Pay UK campaign in protest against energy price rises. 

“In just a few weeks, over 100,000 of us from across the country have come together to say we will refuse to be pushed into fuel poverty and we no longer want to pay for the profits of the energy companies,” the group said.

However, many charities have also warned of the “serious consequences” of not paying energy bills. “If you don’t repay your debt, then additional interest can be added to the amount that you owe,” Citizens Advice said.

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