As the Conservative leadership contest drags on the two contenders pretend the last 12 years of Tory government have never happened.

On one hand you have Sunak responsible for inflation at a 40 year high and on the other, there’s Liz Truss, who was part of a cabinet which has sanctioned the highest tax hike in history, claiming she did not agree with them and will now cut taxes.

While the candidates squabble about who gets the keys to number 10, families are worrying about the rising cost of living.

Yet the urgency of the situation has not been met by any action from the government with the prime minister saying he will not intervene.

Cabinet ministers are missing in action during an energy emergency that is only going to get worse. The government has lost control of the economy and has no solution to fix the mounting pressures facing households.

Forecasts now suggest the typical energy bill could rise to £3,500 in October, and more than £4,200 in January - this kind of spiralling cost simply can not be allowed to continue.

With oil and gas giants now reporting bumper profits, we must act to rebalance the scales.

Centrica which owns British Gas saw its profits soar to more than £1.5 billion for the first half of the year.

Across the UK more than four million people rely on prepayment meters, yet shockingly they pay more than those who pay for electricity via direct debit.

Labour would apply the same price cap to prepayment meters as that of direct debit customers.

It can not be fair that when someone is on a prepayment meter they have to pay even more through no fault of their own.

As energy prices spiral, we are calling on the government to make sure that no one pays over the odds for the same gas and electricity that everyone else gets, as well as arguing for broader action to help people manage their bills over the winter.

Labour would take the necessary action to get the country through this energy emergency and ease the cost of living crisis facing millions of households.