shut down Ed Miliband as he revealed energy winter bills will “come down by 2030.”
During Friday’s visit to the studios, the 62-year-old broadcaster woke up the nation alongside his co-host on the famous red sofa.
The dynamic duo discussed some of the biggest stories hitting the nation before they welcomed the Labour MP onto the show.
And it’s fair to say the broadcaster didn’t make things easy for the 54-year-old politician as he grilled him over the outrageous Labour winter fuel plan.
BBC Breakfast’s Charlie Stayt skewers Ed Miliband over outrageous Labour winter fuel plan (Image: BBC)
On Tuesday (October 1), the Ofgem energy price cap pushed energy bills up by 10% (£12.50 a month on average) due to a rise in wholesale prices. Costs are currently expected to remain at a similar level in January 2025.
Determined to understand the new changes, Charlie began: “As you’re well aware, the new energy price caps came in on Tuesday this week and gas and elecriticity prices are rising by 10% cent in England, Scotland and Wales. People’s bills are going up.
“My understanding is that as you are trying to become an administration in what you are outlining, you said you were going to bring people’s bills down.”
The politician argued that the rise in energy bills is due to “geo-politica instability” which may mean prices won’t come down for more than five years.
Ed replied: “Yeah, and do you know why prices went up Charlie, on October 1st? Because we’re in the grip of an international gas market controlled by petrol states and dictators.
“And when geo-political instability happens, gas markets react and there’s nothing we can do as a government.” The MP reassured viewers that the government are determined to lower prices through clean energy sources.
He went on: “But there is something we can do, and that’s what this government was elected to do, which is to drive to clean home-grown energy we control.
“That’s why we’ve overturned the on-shore wind ban, consented more solar in less than three months than the last government did in 14 years, had the most successful renewable auction in history.
“We are in a hurry to get us energy independence, and this is all part of the government’s plan. See if you take these two things together, we say, ‘We have renewable energy absolutely where we can, we can have the maximum renewable energy where we can and carbon-capture where we can’t.
“But the only way we get back control of our energy prices is with the clean energy superpower mission that this government was elected to deliver, and is delivering.”
It was at this point that Charlie bluntly asked: “When’s my bill coming down?” to which Ed revealed that Brits won’t see a reduction in prices until 2030.
He explained: “Well, what we’ve said is that by 2030, bills will come down, but let me say this to you, Charlie: Every solar panel we put up, every wind turbine we construct, every piece of grid we construct – and that’s controversial for some people – but this government believes we’ve got to do it.
“Every time we do that we take back control of our energy. That’s what it’s all about, you see the old argument for clean energy was just a climate change argument. The new argument is yes, a climate change argument but it’s also an energy security argument, it’s a control argument.
“Because solar, wind, that’s not controlled by what Putin does or what happens in the Middle East, that’s controlled here, at home, and that is what we’re all about and that’s what we’re driving towards.”
Charlie pointed out: “If I understand the begining of that, you said that by 2030 people’s bills will start coming down. I mean, frankly, that isn’t much help if someone’s approaching this winter and is struggling with their bills already and knowing they’re going to get higher. What you said a moment ago is not very helpful.”
“The thing is Charlie, we just need to be honest about this. If you’re saying to me, ‘Can I click my fingers and overnight bring bills down?’ Well the answer is I can’t and it’s time we had an honesty about these things.
“We’re doing a long-term plan to turn things around for Britain. This is the situation we’ve inherited, we are exposed to international fossil fuels. Now, there are things we can do in the short-term, for example home insulation, which we’re driving forward with.”
Breakfast airs every day from 6am on One or catch up on iPlayer.