Cost of Living: Energy bosses hold crisis talks with ministers over soaring bills | Political news

Crisis talks will take place between energy industry bosses and the government tomorrow after the price cap is forecast to be more than £4,200 in January.

Prime Minister Nadhim Zahawi and Business Minister Kwasi Kwarteng will require gas and electricity executives to submit a breakdown of expected profits and payments as well as investment plans for the next three years. .

Confirming the meeting on Sky News, Education Secretary James Cleverly said: “The Prime Minister and business secretary have convened the leaders of the energy companies to have them accountable and discuss with them what they are saying. will do with the unexpected, unplanned. , the unprecedented profits they have made due to the spike in energy prices due to Russia Invades Ukraine. “

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Mr. Cleverly did not deny it there may be a power outage this winterbut did say the UK was “much better than many countries in terms of our domestic energy production”.

Leaked government documents warned of a possible “reasonable worst-case scenario” for homes and businesses in January if there was a combination of below-average temperatures and a drop reduced gas imports, according to the report.

It comes amid widespread anger against Shell, BP and British Gas owner Centrica posting bumper financial results as households struggle to cope with bills skyrocketed.

In a new outlook for households, Cornwall Insight says bills will rise to around £3,582 in October, from £1,971 previously, before rising further in the new year.

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Millions of UK homes are already in debt

Millions of UK homes are owed their energy bills – with £1.3 billion in debt, even before the bills are set to rise by more than 80%, according to analysts at Uswitch.

Calls are growing for Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to hold urgent talks to deliver a new package of financial measures before the Tory leadership contest ends.

But last night, Ms. Truss called the proposal a “kangaroo committee” and ruled out widespread cash handouts in response to the crisis as “Gordon Brown economics”.

Former Prime Minister of Labor has been charge leader for further actions After a report he commissioned found families are suffering more than £1,600 damage due to the cost of living crisis, even with government help taken into account.

Questions have been raised as to why the party’s current leader, Sir Keir Starmer, is not as vocal as his predecessor.

When asked about his whereabouts on Sky News, shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Keir Starmer is like everyone getting a holiday, it’s totally fine. for the family.”

An ‘international effort’ is needed to reduce costs

Dems Lib asked parliament to withdraw from the summer holidays to the passage of legislation to eliminate impending energy price spikes.

Leader Ed Davey laid out how he would respond to the energy crisis, saying a new ‘energy boost plan’ should be put in place, and the government should absorb the £36bn cost. of this increase.

But Ms Phillipson said it was “a bit difficult to listen to Ed Davey’s lectures”.

“He’s the secretary of state responsible for energy and climate change in the Conservative-Lib Dem government,” she said.

“It’s the government’s failure in its long-term plan, to provide a new generation of nuclear power plants, to insulate our homes, to cut down on renewable energy, that has put us in a difficult position. this mind.”

Mr Cleverly, who is backing Ms Truss in the leadership race, said the more complicated solution was to ask parliament to recall “so all these problems go away”.

He said the government’s ultimate aim is to reduce energy costs but this would require “international as well as domestic political efforts”.

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‘Bury your differences’

In the next development on Tuesday, the chief secretary of the Ministry of Finance said that the government is working on a cost-of-living package for the next prime minister.

In a series of tweets, Simon Clarke said it was “absolutely correct to consider these options in the round” when the new leader took power, rather than announcing “undisclosed new policies” during the election. nominate.

It comes after Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert urged the two Tory leadership contenders to bury their differences to solve the problem together, warning the country was facing a “big storm” flood”.

He said the “zombie government needs to wake up earlier than September 5”, when the new Tory leader and prime minister will be announced, as the projections of the new bill are “unacceptable for thousands of dollars”. million people”.

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However, the calls seem to have fallen on deaf ears as the two adversaries continue to clash over their economic plans.

Rishi Sunak promised to give “hundreds of pounds” more for people for energy bills, while Liz Truss insists her priority is pushing through tax cuts to jumpstart the economy.

On Wednesday, the Truss campaign announced it was in contact with other pro-Sunak MPs who could follow in the footsteps of Tory MP Chris Skidmore after he defected.

They say the former prime minister’s “flip” to the economy is likely to trigger a “bigger exodus” from his camp.

But Mr Sunak’s team countered that Ms Truss’ plan for the cost of living crisis was “as clear as mud” after she insisted further direct assistance was not ruled out, despite the her comments on handouts.