John Healey says UK faces ‘difficult moment’ as he prepares to deliver first budget of Andy Burnham’s government

• You be the chancellor: play our budget game to see if you can balance the books

The gas standing charges decision has also been welcomed by Nesta, a thinktank that recently published a paper arguing for exactly this policy. Andrew Sissons, director in sustainable future at Nesta, said:

Ditching the gas standing charge rightly takes a big chunk off millions of people’s energy bills, sharing costs more fairly and giving cash-strapped households a much-needed boost. This measure will provide relief to the poorest households who ration their gas use but it will also mean that switching to electric heating such as heat pumps is a better deal for some households that use more gas.