A Norfolk county councillor's comments about fuel poverty have been branded "disgusting" after he suggested people could get out of the situation by gaining new skills to get better jobs.
Tempers flared during a Norfolk County Council debate in which the Lib Dems tabled a motion calling for the authority to develop a strategy to end fuel poverty - defined as when a household needs to spend at least 10pc of its income to keep homes at a satisfactory temperature.
Eric Vardy, the council's cabinet member for environment, said it was an important issue, but his Conservative administration was already supporting communities, such as through its Household Support Fund and the Warm and Well campaign.
He said: "Fuel poverty can be addressed by improving a household's income - the ability to pay bills.
"We are doing this by supporting people to develop new skills and careers through adult learning.
"We are just starting a small project with the Department for Works and Pensions to work with those receiving benefits to understand opportunities for them to earn more by improving their skills."
But Lib Dem councillor Lucy Shires said: "I'm absolutely disgusted that the message from the cabinet of this council is 'get a better job'.
"That is absolutely appalling and on behalf of the hard-working residents of Norfolk you really need to think about these things.
"They do work hard and it's not as simple as just getting a better job.
"That's disgusting and just shows how under-educated some members of this chamber are about what fuel poverty actually means."
Deputy leader Andrew Jamieson said it was easy to virtue signal and said: "I don't think this council needs to take any lessons from you, when supporting the hard-working residents of this county - we do so consistently."
READ MORE: More than 465,000 will experience fuel poverty this winter, figures show
But angry Lib Dem Dan Roper said everything within his party's motion included actions the council could take.
He said: "What you are saying is there's nothing else you want to do and that is shameful."
The motion was defeated, with 29 against it and 20 for.
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