Daily Express, on UK Politics, 28 October 2026

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UK households face £465 energy bills increase in January but Budget set to help Help on rising energy bills is expected to be announced today. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments By Alex Evans , Deputy Audience Editor 09:38, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Updated: 09:38, Wed, Oct 28, 2026 Energy bills are set to rocket £465 but help is coming (Image: Getty) Households are facing a 'nightmare' 27% rise in energy bills in January - but help is set to be announced in the Budget today.

Money expert Martin Lewis met Chancellor John Healey this morning ahead of the Budget speech to Parliament, where the government already confirmed plans to axe from gas bills . Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT But Martin warned ITV's GMB viewers this morning that the real 'nightmare' is that Ofgem is set to hike average energy bills by another 27% in January following rises in the cost of wholesale gas, meaning the current £1,723 illustrative figure would rise by another £465.

However, Martin said that 'reading between the lines', the Chancellor hinted that further support for energy bills will be announced this afternoon. Get personal finance news, money saving tips and advice plus selcted offers and competitions I would like to receive emails from the Daily Express featuring our latest products, services, offers, and promotions from across the Reach Plc family . Subscribe Invalid email You agree you are 18 or over.

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. You can unsubscribe at any time. More Info . The MoneySavingExpert founder, who had been in No 11 on the morning of the fiscal statement, said on X: “I’ve just come out of a meeting with the Chancellor. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “The gas standing charge will be scrapped in 2027 (my guess, either for 1 Oct price cap or the 1 Jan 28 price cap).

Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT “Having campaigned against the moral hazard of standing charges for years, I’m pleased. “It’s currently £108 a year. That cost will be shifted onto unit rates. We don’t know how much yet, but I suspect just under 1p per kwH. “The Chancellor also said he will be talking to Ofgem about how they get rid of the charge on electricity as well, but that is ‘trickier’ apparently and will take longer.” Mr Lewis said “about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”, with the dividing line “somewhere around 12,500 kilowatt hours of gas,” as he called for support for vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more.

He continued: “That’s all long-term. The biggest issue in energy right now is that we’re expecting a 27% rise in the price cap in January. “I asked the Chancellor whether he will be intervening on that. He told me I’d have to wait for the Budget, but reading between the lines, yes, there will be an announcement today. “Whether it’s an increase in the warm home discount, or whether it’s council tax (band-related), or whether it’s done via a payout for people in say council tax bands A-D as a proxy for household income as Rishi Sunak did who knows.”

Martin Lewis confirms £108 gas bills cut after standing charge change Labour's Cash ISA u-turn blasted as 'deeply misguided' as Reeves plan faces axe The Greens said Chancellor John Healey’s move to scrap standing charges on gas bills amounted to “tinkering”. A party spokesperson said: “Abolishing standing charges is more tinkering from a Government that is failing to take the bold action needed to end the cost-of-living crisis. “Energy bills have skyrocketed in recent years and are set to rise by hundreds of pounds again this winter.

“‘Hope’ is an easy thing to promise but will not be delivered by a business-as-usual Budget.” Martin Lewis Energy bills Ofgem John Healey Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Add us as preferred source Comments

Read the original article on express.co.uk (opens in a new tab)
What we found (3)

The Express tells readers in its own voice that scrapping the gas standing charge will save everyone with a gas supply £108 a year. Its own quotes from Martin Lewis say the cost moves onto unit rates and about 40% of people will pay more. The Express also calls the charges 'hated', and its headline states a forecast January rise without saying whose forecast it is.

  1. Uses figures that mislead

    Serious

    “which will save anyone with a gas supply a total of £108 a year”

    Why this matters
    In its own voice the Express says scrapping the gas standing charge 'will save anyone with a gas supply' £108 a year.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes every gas customer will be £108 a year better off.
    The context
    The article's own quotes from Martin Lewis say the £108 cost will be moved onto unit rates, and that about 40% of people will pay more as a result. The £108 is the size of the charge, not a saving for everyone.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“That cost will be shifted onto unit rates.”
    • Elsewhere in the article“about 60% of people will pay less due to this, 40% more”

    Show it in the article

    Written straight

    The government plans to scrap the £108 gas standing charge and move the cost onto unit rates; Martin Lewis estimates about 60% of people will pay less and 40% more.

  2. Headline goes beyond the article

    Minor

    “UK households face £465 energy bills increase in January”

    Why this matters
    The headline states 'face £465 energy bills increase' as a fixed fact, with no word that this is a forecast or whose forecast it is.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes Ofgem has set a £465 rise for January.
    The context
    In the body the figure is Martin Lewis's warning about what Ofgem is 'set to' do. The January cap had not been announced, and the BBC on the same day reported a forecast rise of £276.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

    “but Budget set to help”

    Why this matters
    The headline states 'Budget set to help' in the outlet's own voice.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes help with the January rise had been confirmed.
    The context
    The body rests this on Martin Lewis 'reading between the lines' after the Chancellor told him he would have to wait for the Budget. That is a guess from one man, which the headline turns into the outlet's own statement.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“the Chancellor hinted that further support for energy bills will be announced this afternoon”

    Show it in the article

    “which will add £465 onto the average, typical use households' dual fuel energy bills”

    Why this matters
    The opening repeats the rise with 'will add £465' in the outlet's voice, stating a forecast as certain.
    The impression it gives
    A reader believes the £465 figure is fixed.
    The context
    It is a projection from a 27% forecast applied to the £1,723 figure. Other forecasts that day were lower, at £276.

    How we know

    Show it in the article

  3. Uses a loaded word

    Minor

    “the hated standing charges”

    Why this matters
    The Express calls the standing charges 'hated' in its own voice.
    The impression it gives
    A reader takes it as given that the charges are universally disliked and their removal is plainly good for everyone.
    The context
    The article itself reports that removing them shifts the cost onto unit rates and leaves some higher users paying more, so the verdict in 'hated' is the outlet's, not a fact.

    How we know

    • Elsewhere in the article“as he called for support for vulnerable higher users who will have to pay more”

    Show it in the article

How other outlets reported it

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