No one should be forced to go without broadband in modern Britain

Internet access is essential for life in a modern society; we are failing as an economy if we don’t guarantee it.

Food prices have risen by 19.2 per cent over the last year, their fastest pace for 45 years.

Energy prices surged last year and energy prices will remain 60 per cent higher for households than 18 months ago.

At the 2019 general election Labour proposed a clear and affordable solution to the problem by offering to treat broadband as an essential public service and charge it at the socially efficient price which is zero. Howled at by the sensibles of the political class at the time, the policy would have meant considerable savings for households today. And we would not be slowly unwinding decades of digital progress. [See also: The age of ambient information].