I am a naturally optimistic person. I also believe that the UK does many things better than other countries. But as I write this, we are an island that is running out of water, where nearly 30,000 people waited over 12 hours in an A&E last month, and where you can’t even get a train between Manchester and London. However, of all the current crises facing the UK, the most urgent is the energy emergency.

Not long ago a £2,000 average annual energy bill would have been troubling. But as it stands the energy price cap will now rise to £3,582 in October and is projected to reach £4,266 by January 2023. This would put half the population of the UK into fuel poverty, and the overwhelming majority of people in Tameside. This. Should. Not. Happen.

The main driver of these high prices is the cost of natural gas which has rocketed following the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine. Although all countries face this pressure, the UK is one of the most exposed because our homes are energy inefficient and we use gas extensively for both heating and electricity.

In the medium term the UK must reduce our dependence on volatile fossil fuels, by ending the ban on onshore wind, doubling our offshore wind capacity, trialling a tidal lagoon project and proceeding with new nuclear (we need it all). Most families could also save on average £1000 a year (at these high prices) from their energy bill by making their home more efficient, and we could cut gas imports by 15%. At the very least, investing in a smart thermostat is now relatively easy and you’ll make your money back pretty quickly. A national insulation effort should be treated the same way as the vaccine rollout.

An average energy bill over £5,000 for families in Tameside is unthinkable when oil and gas producers are raking in record profits. Labour would take tough action to protect families from this price hike. Myself and Labour colleagues are of the view that the energy cap must be frozen at the current level. It’s a big call but I see no other option to avoid disaster. The cost of this would be £29.8bn, paid for by a combination of the windfall tax we proposed, redirecting the Government’s existing energy rebate, and reducing the inflation escalation a cap rise would mean (thus curbing the rising cost of government debt).

I cannot stress enough how serious the energy crisis could be. We need action commensurate with the scale of what we are facing. Freezing the cap is the only way to keep Tameside families afloat.