Britons and Energy Bills tracker - No new energy crisis, same old permacrisis

Insight
15 September 2025

Based on surveys of over 2,400 respondents and a focus group conversation with parents in Stoke Central and Birmingham Perry Barr, this report examines how three years of high energy bills are stretching household finances to breaking point and straining family life.

The cost of living has remained as Britons' top concern since More in Common started our biggest issues tracker in 2022.

Energy bills now make up the largest part of the cost of living crisis and have overtaken food prices as Britons' number one cost of living concern.

The report shows that high energy bills are having a profound impact on Britons - driving stress and anxiety, causing arguments within households, and leaving families with almost no financial headroom. Less than three in ten say they could absorb a further rise in bills, and anxiety about the impact of the Iran War on energy prices is acute.

Key findings include:

Concern over energy costs has risen - the share of Britons citing energy bills as a top cost of living issue increased from 66 per cent in August 2025 to 73 per cent in March 2026.
Two in five say energy bills have caused arguments at home - even among those earning over £100,000, 41 per cent say they have argued with their household over energy usage.
Confidence in the Government remains low - only 17 per cent of Britons believe the Government's plans to reduce household energy bills are working or will start working soon.
Reform UK and the Green Party are drawing support from those most worried about energy bills - 41 per cent of voters who backed Labour in 2024 but would now vote for Reform or the Greens report increased stress and anxiety from energy bills.

This report forms part of More in Common's wider work on Britons' attitudes towards the cost of living and energy.

The survey and focus groups referenced in this report and the writing of this report have been funded by Electrify Britain. This report is the first of a tracker, following British sentiment toward energy bills.

More in Common has maintained, as is the case for all of our partnership work, full editorial independence when conducting this research and writing this report. The views expressed within this report and press release are therefore the views of More in Common.