UK Politics Thread part II

[Jimbuna]

I'm all for giving her a chance and hopefully she will do better than that of Germany's 'efforts' for their citizens.

Soaring household bills look set to be subsidised by energy companies using government-backed loans.

It's thought the government plans to freeze household bills at their current level for roughly 18 months.

Small business are also expected to be offered some relief in the plan set to be announced on Thursday.

Incoming Prime Minister Liz Truss used her victory speech on Monday to pledge to "deliver on the energy crisis" - with a price freeze widely expected.

Energy bills are rocketing and the cap on prices will go up on 1 October, meaning a typical British household is set to pay £3,549 a year on gas and electricity.

Energy bosses have insisted for some time that a government-backed superfund from which they could borrow to subsidise bills "is the only game in town".

Under such a plan, the government would guarantee loans to energy companies that would be used to freeze or at least lower bills this winter and beyond. These loans would be repaid from bills over the next 10 to 20 years.

Scottish Power has said that freezing all bills at the current price cap of £1,971 for two years would cost nearly £100bn.

However, Dermot Nolan, former chief executive of energy regulator Ofgem, warned that this estimate could be "conservative", and also questioned how much it would benefit the most vulnerable.

"This kind of price freeze means that a multimillionaire will get exactly the same level of protection as everybody else," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I hope that at the very least the £400 that is currently being given to more vulnerable people is kept, and hopefully extended," he added.

He said there were a number of questions about what a price freeze would mean in practice, including how long the support would last, and whether it would mean higher energy bills over time.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62801913