THE ‘scandal’ of cold homes needs to end, according to one Bolton MP.

David Crausby, MP for Bolton North East, has backed the new Labour Party pledge to make more than five million homes more energy efficient.

The party have pledged that if they win the next election, they will provide 500,000 personalised home energy reports a year, as well as offer up to one million interest-free loans to cover the costs of energy efficiency during the next Parliament.

Mr Crausby said: “Energy bills have increased by a staggering £300 in the past four years.

"In my constituency alone there are currently over 4,700 households living in fuel poverty – this scandal has to stop.

“Low income families often find themselves in the least energy efficient homes, driving up bills for those who can least afford it. Investing in energy efficiency is the best way to keep bills down and to lift people out of fuel poverty.”

Last year Labour committed to freezing energy prices up to 2017, while reforming the energy market, should they be elected.

Labour’s shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Caroline Flint MP, said millions of households are struggling with a ‘cost-of-living crisis’ in Britain.

She said: “The best way to help households manage their energy bills is to invest in energy efficiency.

“That’s why the next Labour Government has committed to insulating at least five million homes over the next ten years, saving people on average around £270 of their bill.”