Announcing Liz Truss' energy bills tomorrow - but she refuses to tax the oil giants to fund it

Liz Truss will make a statement to Parliament tomorrow on her plan to freeze energy bills, the new Prime Minister confirmed today.

But she refused to tax the oil and gas giants to pay - despite warnings they could lose £170bn in excess profits.

Instead, it should put a supposed cost close to £100 billion on the national debt by borrowing more money.

She said: 'I think it's not a good thing to deter companies from investing in the UK when we need to grow the economy.

The comments sparked a furious row in his first Commons showdown with Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions since joining Number 10.

The Labor leader says the Treasury has forecast energy producers could make £170billion in excess profits over the next two years - and Ms Truss 'will leave those huge excess profits on the table and let workers foot the bill for decades to come."

Liz Truss at her first LFs today (
Picture:
BBC Parliament)
Energy bills are set to be frozen at around £2,500 a year for all households - and also capped for businesses - under major plans to be unveiled by Liz Truss this week.

Allies have claimed this will effectively keep bills at around the same level as they are today - although the current cap is £1,971 - because Ms Truss will retain a £400 discount this winter and remove £153 green levies on invoices.< /p>
An ally of Ms. Truss has suggested a cap will be placed on wholesale costs, not retail ones. This means that businesses, which are not covered by the price cap, will also receive help with their bills.

Crucially, a government source says Liz Truss's team has now ended hugely controversial plans for Britons to repay the cost of their energy bills for 20 years.

Instead, it emerged that the cost - estimated at £90bn but impossible to guess with any precision - would be charged to the national debt.

It raises questions about what will happen to cut public services and spending when Ms Truss pledges to cut taxes and massively increase borrowing at the same time.

Politics Sep 7, 2022 0 76 Add to Reading List

Announcing Liz Truss' energy bills tomorrow - but she refuses to tax the oil giants to fund it

Liz Truss will make a statement to Parliament tomorrow on her plan to freeze energy bills, the new Prime Minister confirmed today.

But she refused to tax the oil and gas giants to pay - despite warnings they could lose £170bn in excess profits.

Instead, it should put a supposed cost close to £100 billion on the national debt by borrowing more money.

She said: 'I think it's not a good thing to deter companies from investing in the UK when we need to grow the economy.

The comments sparked a furious row in his first Commons showdown with Keir Starmer at Prime Minister's Questions since joining Number 10.

The Labor leader says the Treasury has forecast energy producers could make £170billion in excess profits over the next two years - and Ms Truss 'will leave those huge excess profits on the table and let workers foot the bill for decades to come."

Liz Truss at her first LFs today (

Picture:

BBC Parliament)

Energy bills are set to be frozen at around £2,500 a year for all households - and also capped for businesses - under major plans to be unveiled by Liz Truss this week.

Allies have claimed this will effectively keep bills at around the same level as they are today - although the current cap is £1,971 - because Ms Truss will retain a £400 discount this winter and remove £153 green levies on invoices.< /p>

An ally of Ms. Truss has suggested a cap will be placed on wholesale costs, not retail ones. This means that businesses, which are not covered by the price cap, will also receive help with their bills.

Crucially, a government source says Liz Truss's team has now ended hugely controversial plans for Britons to repay the cost of their energy bills for 20 years.

Instead, it emerged that the cost - estimated at £90bn but impossible to guess with any precision - would be charged to the national debt.

It raises questions about what will happen to cut public services and spending when Ms Truss pledges to cut taxes and massively increase borrowing at the same time.