£40m For Caribbean Green Energy Schemes. 5.6 Million British Homes Going Hungry. Charity Begins At Home?
Andy Burnham is sending £40m over three years to Caribbean infrastructure, including renewable energy. At home, the typical energy bill is £1,723 a year and 5.6 million low-income households are going hungry.
By Travis Cook, The Great Climate Con. Built on reporting by The Telegraph and The Independent.
Families across Britain are heading into winter counting every pound. Heating or eating. Pay the bill or pay the rent.
And on Tuesday the Prime Minister stood up in Antigua and handed out £40m.
Not for British homes. For Caribbean infrastructure, including renewable energy schemes.
Here’s what he’s paying for abroad, and what he’s leaving behind at home.
The pledge
£40m over three years, announced in Antigua
Andy Burnham has been Prime Minister since 20 July 2026. His first Commonwealth summit opened in St John’s, Antigua, on 3 November (UK Parliament).
The Telegraph reports that Britain “will allocate £40m during the next three years towards critical infrastructure in the Caribbean, including renewable energy”, plus technical assistance to help Caribbean countries attract investment. Downing Street told PA the money is to speed up critical infrastructure, “including green energy schemes”. Reuters confirms the £40 million over three years.
- £40m for Caribbean critical infrastructure, including renewable energy
- 3 years: about £13.3m a year (our arithmetic)
- Plus: technical assistance, a debt reset and two new task forces
All of it lands alongside a promised “debt reset” for poorer Commonwealth members and talks on a formal apology for the slave trade (BBC News).
Your bills
The typical bill is £1,723. January could be about £2,000
From 1 October, Ofgem’s price cap for a typical household paying by direct debit rose 4%, from £1,663 to £1,723 a year.
It doesn’t stop there. Cornwall Insight’s forecast for the January to March cap is £1,999.28. That’s about £276 more on the typical bill, just as the heating goes on.
- £1,723 a year: the typical bill, 1 Oct to 31 Dec 2026
- About £2,000: Cornwall Insight's January forecast (£1,999.28)
- 55% of billpayers in credit, down from 64% in 2022
Uswitch says forecasters expect a rise of around 22% in January. And families have no buffer left: only 55% of billpayers are in credit this year, down from 64% in 2022.
The kitchen table
5.6 million low-income households are going hungry
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation surveyed low-income households in May and June. Almost half, 47%, had gone hungry, cut the size of meals or skipped meals in the last 30 days because they couldn’t afford food. That’s 5.6 million households.
JRF puts the number unable to afford at least one essential item at 7.4 million, the highest since its tracker began in 2021. And 1.5 million households used a food bank in the last six months (JRF).
- 5.6 million low-income households going without food
- 7.4 million unable to afford an essential, a record
- 1.5 million used a food bank in six months
Energy bills are eating the food budget too. One in twelve billpayers plan to spend less on food this winter to cover their energy costs.
The cold
2.4 million low-income households can't keep warm
In May, around 2.4 million low-income households had not been able to keep their home warm in the last six months because they couldn’t afford it. Of those who heated their home less than they needed, 42% have been doing it for more than two years.
The government’s own figures say the same. In England alone, 2.36 million households, 9.4%, were in fuel poverty in 2025.
- 2.4 million low-income households can't afford to keep warm
- 2.36 million fuel poor households in England, 2025
- 43% of billpayers plan to wear extra clothes instead of heating
Campaigners at the End Fuel Poverty Coalition say 13.5 million households in Great Britain now spend more than 10% of their income on energy. And 43% of billpayers plan to wear extra clothes rather than turn the heating on (Uswitch).
The debt
3.4 million households owe their energy supplier
Uswitch research reported by The Independent puts 3.4 million households, nearly one in eight, in debt to their energy supplier. Together they owe about £750m, an average of £220 each.
Two thirds of them have been chased by their supplier. Only about one in eight say they got help to set up a repayment plan.
- 3.4 million households in energy debt
- About £750m owed in total
- £220 owed on average
Run the numbers. £40m would clear that average £220 debt for about 180,000 British households (our arithmetic). The Prime Minister chose the Caribbean.
The hypocrisy
He promised breathing space at home. The cheque went abroad
When he took office, Burnham talked of the need to “do something to make life more affordable, to put more money in people’s pockets, to give people more breathing space again”.
Three months on, the breathing space is going to Caribbean infrastructure, including green energy schemes about 4,000 miles away.
His own regulator says what’s driving your bill. Ofgem puts this winter’s rise down to higher wholesale gas prices. The answer for British families is cheaper energy here. Not renewable schemes on the other side of the Atlantic.
This is the same government that treats net zero as untouchable while bills climb. We’ve shown where that leads in Renewable Energy Is Causing Fuel Poverty For Millions In The UK.
The objection
"But that's just £40m. It's small change"
Small change to a Prime Minister. Not to the families on the end of it.
January’s forecast rise is about £276 on the typical bill. £40m would cover that rise for about 145,000 households (our arithmetic). Or it would wipe out the average energy debt for about 180,000.
And the size was never the point. The point is the order of the queue. Families are skipping meals and sitting in cold homes, and the first cheque the Prime Minister waves on the world stage is for someone else’s energy.
Every pound of it is British taxpayers’ money. Charity begins at home.
More: Net Zero And Renewables Bringing Britain To The Brink Of An Energy Crisis
The bottom line
The bottom line
- Abroad: £40m over three years for Caribbean infrastructure, including renewable energy.
- Your bill: £1,723 a year now, and about £2,000 forecast for January.
- Hunger: 5.6 million low-income households going without food.
- Cold: 2.4 million low-income households can't afford to keep warm.
- Debt: 3.4 million households owe their supplier about £750m.
For the real cost of the green agenda at home, read Net Zero To Cost UK £803 Billion By 2050.
Figures marked “our arithmetic” are worked out from the sources below: £40m ÷ 3 years; £40m ÷ £276 (Cornwall Insight’s £1,999.28 minus Ofgem’s £1,723); £40m ÷ £220 (Uswitch’s average debt).
Sources
Sources
- The Telegraph, Burnham hands Caribbean £40m after demands to atone for slave trade (2 Nov 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- The Independent (PA), Burnham pledges £40m in aid for Caribbean (2 Nov 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- The Straits Times (Reuters), UK PM to raise debt reset and trade at Commonwealth summit (3 Nov 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- BBC News, PM plans debt re-set for Commonwealth nations as slavery apology talks begin (3 Nov 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- UK Parliament, Government priorities for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM, 1–4 Nov 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Museum of the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham (Prime Minister from 20 Jul 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Ofgem, Energy price cap will rise by 4% from October 2026 (26 Aug 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Cornwall Insight, Default Tariff Cap predictions, January–March 2027 (updated 14 Oct 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Cost of living tracker, summer 2026 (22 Jul 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- The Independent, Millions of UK households are in energy debt (Uswitch research, 21 Oct 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- DESNZ, Fuel poverty factsheet 2026, England 2025 data (26 Mar 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- The Guardian, Energy price cap rise ‘will push millions in Great Britain into fuel poverty’ (End Fuel Poverty Coalition, 1 Jul 2026) (opens in a new tab)
Source links open in a new tab.
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