Wednesday 18 March 2026 5:21 am  |  Updated:  Tuesday 17 March 2026 10:40 am

State handouts for oil are no way to help the poorest

By: Charles Amos

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If government steps in whenever there is a so-called crisis then people will stop saving for a rainy day in the false belief government will always be there to supply them with an umbrella, says Charles Amos

This week Keir Starmer announced a £53m support package for vulnerable people who use oil as their main source of heating. According to the Prime Minister, this is essential to meet people’s genuine needs. Yet Britain’s state, indebted to the tune of £2.8 trillion already, can hardly go on doling out money whenever any inconvenience comes along, especially when people should have really saved up for a rainy day like this themselves.

In Britain today about 1.5m households use oil as their main source of heating. These people are said to be severely affected by the rise in the price of brent crude from $73 a barrel before the Iran War to about $100 a barrel now. Heating oil has doubled in price over the past week.........

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