Among the hardest hit groups will be pensioners, with 86.4% of pensioner couples expected to fall into fuel poverty, along with 90.4% of lone parents with two or more children.

An estimated 45 million people in the UK will be in fuel poverty this winter, a new report has warned, as the cost of living crisis continues to take hold as a result of soaring food and energy bills.

The study, published by the University of York, says that two-thirds of all UK households will be trapped in fuel poverty by January, the equivalent of 45 million people or 18 million families.

The impact of the cost of living crisis will not be felt equally, with the study also highlighting that the hardest hit region will be Northern Ireland, with 76.3% of families battling to make ends meet, followed by Scotland at 72.8%, then the West Midlands (70.9%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (70.6%).

Over half of London households (56.4%) will also be in fuel poverty in January 2023.

Among the hardest hit groups will be pensioners, with 86.4% of pensioner couples expected to fall into fuel poverty, along with 90.4% of lone parents with two or more children.

The latest figures come after yesterday’s announcement by the ONS that inflation had reached a 40 year high of 10.1%.

Responding to the shocking figures in the Guardian, Labour’s Ed Miliband said: “These shocking figures show the full scale of the national emergency that could unfold unless the Conservative government acts to freeze energy bills.

“This is a crisis that will not just threaten the most vulnerable, but also the middle-income families and pensioners across the country, who will be despairing about how they are going to get through this winter. We simply cannot allow the British people to suffer in this way.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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