Burnham plans to scrap standing charges on household gas bills
At PMQs, Andy Burnham asked the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary to look at removing standing charges from gas bills. No details have been given on who would pay those costs instead.
Left 0 · Centre-left 6 · Centre 3 · Centre-right 2 · Right 3
Sources by leanFollow the moneyMore coverage
How each side framed it
Left-leaning outlets
Practical effect and fairness: how your bill could fall (i), a £108-a-year charge (Mirror), and the Resolution Foundation calling it progressive (BBC).
Centre outlets
Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Andy Burnham plans to cut standing charges from household gas bills” (Financial Times); “Andy Burnham proposes plan to cut standing charges from gas bills” (BBC News).
Right-leaning outlets
Welcome but sceptical: 'hated standing charges… could be axed' (Sun), a 'bombshell' announcement (Express), with Badenoch attacking two and a half years of 'dithering' over Jackdaw.
Holding the paradox
Agreed facts
At PMQs, Andy Burnham said he had asked Chancellor John Healey and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh to look at removing standing charges from gas bills and report back. Standing charges are fixed daily fees, about 27–30p a day for gas. No details have been given on how the costs would be recovered.
Where claims conflict
Who pays: Energy UK says the effect depends on where the costs are moved to; Nesta has suggested moving them to unit rates or taxation. Savings estimates vary, from £27 to £108 a year.
The paradox
Removing a fixed fee helps low users but moves the cost elsewhere. Whether that is fair depends on who ends up paying it, and the plan does not say yet.
Sources by lean
Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.
Left 3
Centre 3
- BBC News
Andy Burnham proposes plan to cut standing charges from gas bills - PoliticsHome
PM Says Government Plans To Remove Standing Charges From Energy Bills - Financial Times
Andy Burnham plans to cut standing charges from household gas bills (paywalled or blocks bots)
Showing 3 from each side of 14 rated outlets (L 6 / C 3 / R 5). More coverage
Follow the money
Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.
Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (15 outlets)
| Outlet | Lean | Ownership & funding (MBFC) |
|---|---|---|
| Bloomberg | Centre-left | Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source |
| Daily Mirror | Centre-left | British Publishing Company Reach plc (formerly Trinity Mirror) owns The Daily Mirror. Revenue is generated through digital advertising, print ads, and subscription fees. source |
| The Herald (Scotland) | Centre-left | The Glasgow Herald is published by Herald & Times Group, which is owned by Newsquest Media Group Ltd. Newsquest is the second-largest publisher in the United Kingdom, publishing 205 brands including 165 newspapers. Further, Newsquest is owned by US-based Gannett which publishes USA Today. source |
| The Independent | Centre-left | The Independent is owned by Independent Print Limited, a company owned by the Lebedev family (Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev). In 2017, Saudi Businessman Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in the Independent online newspaper. Advertising and subscription generate revenue for the paper..push({}); source |
| The National (Scotland) | Centre-left | The National is operated by Newsquest Media Group Ltd., a UK-based local media publisher. Newsquest is a wholly owned subsidiary of USA TODAY Co., Inc., the media company formerly known as Gannett Company, which also controls AZthe USA TODAY Network of national and local news outlets in the United States and regional titles in the United Kingdom. Revenue is generated from advertising and subscription sales source |
| i (inews) | Centre-left | DMG Media owns iNews, which publishes the Daily Mail and The Metro. Advertising, sponsored content, and subscriptions generate revenue. source |
| BBC News | Centre | The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source |
| Financial Times | Centre | The Financial Times is owned by The Nikkei, a Japanese news and financial information company that publishes the leading financial paper, The Nikkei. The FT generates revenue through subscriptions, a hard paywall, and advertising..push({}); source |
| PoliticsHome | Centre | PoliticsHome.com is owned by Political Holdings Ltd, a media company controlled by Michael Ashcroft, a former Conservative House of Lords peer, and longtime party donor. The website previously belonged to Dods Group plc, a publishing company specializing in UK public policy and politics. source |
| Evening Standard | Centre-right | The newspaper is majority-owned by Russian businessman and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev and the Daily Mail and General Trust. Revenue is generated through advertising. source |
| ITV News | Centre-right | No ownership data found |
| Daily Express | Right | The Daily Express is owned by Reach plc (formerly known as Trinity Mirror), a British newspaper, magazine, and digital publisher. Subscriptions, newsstand sales, and advertising generate revenue. source |
| The Sun | Right | The Sun is published by the News Group Newspapers division of News UK, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. The paper generates revenue through advertising, newsstand sales, and subscriptions. source |
| The Telegraph | Right | Telegraph Media Group (TMG) owns The Telegraph, which is owned by Press Acquisitions Ltd., which in turn is owned by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay. In 2004, Twin Brothers Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay acquired the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph from the Canadian media company Hollinger Inc. for £665 million. For a complete list of Board members, see here. source |
| City A.M. | Not rated | No ownership data found |