UNIONS urged the government today to introduce an emergency social tariff shielding homes from spiralling energy costs related to the Iran war.

The TUC said this would cut up to £559 from annual bills and should be paid for by an increase in the windfall tax on banks.

Fuel poverty campaigners welcomed the “serious and welcome contribution” but raised concerns that the proposals would take too long to take effect before the energy price cap rises next month.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Working people must not bear the brunt of Trump’s illegal war.  

“The government has rightly stepped up support for energy intensive industries — it’s now time to act on household bills too.

“The price cap has kept down bills for now, but the changing price cap means that from the summer, households will start to feel the pain.

“That’s why we are calling for an emergency social tariff which will cut bills for two thirds of households — those that need it most — and retains the price cap for everyone else except the extremely wealthy minority on huge estates.

“This common-sense approach would stop punishing price rises for households and bring down inflation. It should be paid for by an increase in the windfall tax on banks, which have made eye-watering profits.

“Beyond times of crisis, we need to protect households from the rollercoaster of energy prices in a volatile global market by introducing a permanent social tariff which cuts bills for those low-income households — as well as wider moves to delink British energy prices from international wholesale gas prices.”

End Fuel Poverty Coalition co-ordinator Simon Francis said: “The TUC’s social tariff proposal is a serious and welcome contribution and we support the principle of a permanent, income-based tariff with a built-in crisis trigger add-on. 

“But we worry that building the legislative and household income data infrastructure this relies on will take time — and time is the one thing households facing a July price rise do not have.”

He backed electricity pricing reforms “to bring down costs for all consumers” and for ministers to introduce an energy debt relief scheme, expand the Warm Home Discount and reform Cold Weather Payments.