LONDON (AP/Daily Mail) – Britain has had a tough 12 months and its problems will not “go away” in 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Saturday in his New Year message.
Sunak, who in October became the third Conservative British prime minister of the year, said the UK was rocked this year by the “profound economic impact” caused by the war in Ukraine.
He said his government has taken “difficult but fair decisions to get borrowing and debt under control” and helped Britons cope with a cost of living crisis driven by sharply rising energy bills.
Sunak did not mention the UK’s political chaos this year, which saw former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit in July after a string of scandals and his successor Liz Truss resign after less than two months in office.
Britain’s economy and politics have calmed down since then, but Sunak still needs to tackle a slowing economy, widespread workers’ strikes in reaction to the cost of living crisis, and a fractious Conservative Party that’s losing popular support after 12 years in power.
“I’m not going to pretend that all our problems will go away in the new year,” he said.
Energy bills misery is set to continue through 2023 amid warnings that the cost of heat and light will remain high for a decade.
Gas and electricity costs are unlikely to return to ‘normal’ until the 2030s, according to analysis from industry experts Cornwall Insight.
The average annual bill is set to rise from £2,500 to £3,000 in April, which means families and businesses will be paying more next winter.
Analysts said the price would be as high as £4,174 if the figure was linked to international wholesale prices and not limited by the Government’s energy price guarantee.
Experts added that the total cost of the guarantee, which was introduced in October, is on course to cost as much as £47billion over 18 months.
Although this will be added to government borrowing, Cornwall Insight warned the cost will have to be paid back by taxpayers over the coming decades.
Analysts also said that surging bills can be directly linked to the war in Ukraine and the UK’s decision to stop buying Russian gas and oil.
This means Britain has become more reliant on imports of expensive gas from Norway and through shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from America, the Middle East and parts of Africa.