‘Even when I slept I was cold’: the brutal reality of a childhood in fuel poverty

Millions of UK households will soon be struggling with energy bills - if they are not already. After a childhood spent in damp and freezing flats, Kerry Hudson is full of sympathy - and rage

Let's start with a multiple choice question. It is a cold, wet February evening. You come home with your two kids after school. You stand in the hallway and contemplate your options. Do you put on the heating? It is freezing and your kids are reluctant to take off their coats. Perhaps you should make a cheap but nutritious dinner for them. They have been saying all the way home that they are starving". You could give them their night-time bath, because it is two days since they had their last one, or save the cost of the heating for some new winter boots - theirs are too tight and letting in water.

You can pick only one option.