Energy bills would be frozen until 2024, when the next general election is expected, under plans being considered by Liz Truss, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Foreign Secretary will become prime minister on Tuesday, replacing Boris Johnson, after winning the Tory leadership race.
Following a visit to Balmoral to be appointed by the Queen, Ms Truss will use a speech on the steps of Number 10 – weather permitting – to outline her vision for her premiership and set out a policy drive for her first 100 days.
A package of energy bills support for households is due to be revealed as early as Thursday, followed within weeks by a formal announcement of tax cuts and a plan to clear the NHS backlog.
The Telegraph understands that, among the moves to tackle the cost of living crisis set to be unveiled this week, Ms Truss could freeze energy bills for all households until 2024.
The “huge” policy intervention would last longer and cost tens of billions of pounds more than the Labour Party’s proposal to cap prices at their current levels until early 2023.
Ms Truss is also expected to announce a huge expansion of North Sea gas extraction. Future revenues could potentially help to fund the cost of freezing bills.
It came after Ms Truss appeared to rule out an early general election in her victory speech, saying: “We will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”
The Foreign Secretary clinched the Tory leadership on Monday with a narrower than expected victory over Rishi Sunak, winning 57.4 per cent of party members’ votes to his 42.6 per cent.
It is the slimmest margin of victory in a Tory leadership race since members were given the final say and Iain Duncan Smith became the first leader to be elected by them in 2001.
Cabinet appointments will be announced on Tuesday evening, with half a dozen of Ms Truss’s most loyal supporters, largely on the party’s Right, to be given the most senior roles.
Mr Johnson will bring down the curtain on his three-year premiership with a speech in Downing Street at around 7.30am on Tuesday, brought forward an hour because of the possibility of rain.
He will visit the Queen at Balmoral, Her Majesty’s Scottish estate, to step down. Ms Truss will then visit, becoming the UK’s third female prime minister, before flying to London and delivering her speech at around 4pm.
Ms Truss gave an indication of her approach in a short victory speech, saying: “During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative, and I will govern as a Conservative.
“My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply. And I will deliver on the National Health Service.”
She concluded by saying: “My friends, I know that we will deliver, we will deliver, we will deliver.”
Ms Truss’s first policy announcement will be what campaign figures have called a twin package of measures to provide help to households with soaring energy bills, plus reform of energy supply.
While the Truss campaign continued to stay silent in public about the measures on Monday, details of options being considered are emerging.
The Telegraph understands that Ms Truss plans to institute an energy bill freeze that could last all the way to 2024 and is also leaning towards applying the freeze to all 28 million households rather than offering means tested support, according to multiple campaign and Treasury sources.
One government figure familiar with Truss campaign policy discussions said the intervention would be “huge” and that the campaign wanted a “simple” solution.
Kwasi Kwarteng, set to be appointed chancellor on Tuesday, hinted at a two-year intervention in the Financial Times, saying the package would help businesses and families “through this winter and the next”.
Freezing the price cap would mean annual energy bills for the average household would remain at £1,971 instead of jumping to £3,549 next month. The overall package could cost the Treasury up to £100 billion.
The money could be provided to energy companies as a loan, and industry bosses are understood to have suggested that this be repaid via a levy on household bills after the crisis has passed. However, this would mean that household bills would not fall as quickly as otherwise.
Truss campaign figures insisted final decisions are yet to be taken, with discussions continuing this week. Keeping prices fixed for both the winter of 2022-23 and 2023-24 would reflect the belief of her campaign that energy bills will remain unusually high into 2024.
Critics of Labour’s plan to freeze bills until the spring of 2023 have argued that the policy is flawed because the price cap would jump at that point.
Ms Truss’s proposed move would protect households from a rise in energy bills for much of the period until the next general election, expected in autumn 2024. Eight in 10 voters want a bills freeze, according to some opinion polls.
Her energy plan will also include help for businesses. Campaign figures have said the problem is much more complicated than that with households because the price cap does not apply to companies.
The second section of Ms Truss’s energy package will focus on increasing supply in the medium term. The moratorium on fracking is expected to be lifted with the change coming into place within weeks, opening the door to drilling for shale gas on the UK mainland if it is supported by local communities.
Removing regulations limiting offshore wind farm construction and North Sea oil drilling are also being worked on.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, warned his MPs not to “underestimate” Ms Truss, saying: “She is a talented politician who has got to the top through hard work and determination.”
But a YouGov poll underscored the electoral challenge she faces – only one in seven respondents said she would be a better prime minister than Mr Johnson.
Energy bills would be frozen until 2024, when the next general election is expected, under plans being considered by Liz Truss, The Telegraph can reveal.
The Foreign Secretary will become prime minister on Tuesday, replacing Boris Johnson, after winning the Tory leadership race.
Following a visit to Balmoral to be appointed by the Queen, Ms Truss will use a speech on the steps of Number 10 – weather permitting – to outline her vision for her premiership and set out a policy drive for her first 100 days.
A package of energy bills support for households is due to be revealed as early as Thursday, followed within weeks by a formal announcement of tax cuts and a plan to clear the NHS backlog.
The Telegraph understands that, among the moves to tackle the cost of living crisis set to be unveiled this week, Ms Truss could freeze energy bills for all households until 2024.
The “huge” policy intervention would last longer and cost tens of billions of pounds more than the Labour Party’s proposal to cap prices at their current levels until early 2023.
Ms Truss is also expected to announce a huge expansion of North Sea gas extraction. Future revenues could potentially help to fund the cost of freezing bills.
It came after Ms Truss appeared to rule out an early general election in her victory speech, saying: “We will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024.”
The Foreign Secretary clinched the Tory leadership on Monday with a narrower than expected victory over Rishi Sunak, winning 57.4 per cent of party members’ votes to his 42.6 per cent.
It is the slimmest margin of victory in a Tory leadership race since members were given the final say and Iain Duncan Smith became the first leader to be elected by them in 2001.
Cabinet appointments will be announced on Tuesday evening, with half a dozen of Ms Truss’s most loyal supporters, largely on the party’s Right, to be given the most senior roles.
Mr Johnson will bring down the curtain on his three-year premiership with a speech in Downing Street at around 7.30am on Tuesday, brought forward an hour because of the possibility of rain.
He will visit the Queen at Balmoral, Her Majesty’s Scottish estate, to step down. Ms Truss will then visit, becoming the UK’s third female prime minister, before flying to London and delivering her speech at around 4pm.
Ms Truss gave an indication of her approach in a short victory speech, saying: “During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a Conservative, and I will govern as a Conservative.
“My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy.
“I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply. And I will deliver on the National Health Service.”
She concluded by saying: “My friends, I know that we will deliver, we will deliver, we will deliver.”
Ms Truss’s first policy announcement will be what campaign figures have called a twin package of measures to provide help to households with soaring energy bills, plus reform of energy supply.
While the Truss campaign continued to stay silent in public about the measures on Monday, details of options being considered are emerging.
The Telegraph understands that Ms Truss plans to institute an energy bill freeze that could last all the way to 2024 and is also leaning towards applying the freeze to all 28 million households rather than offering means tested support, according to multiple campaign and Treasury sources.
One government figure familiar with Truss campaign policy discussions said the intervention would be “huge” and that the campaign wanted a “simple” solution.
Kwasi Kwarteng, set to be appointed chancellor on Tuesday, hinted at a two-year intervention in the Financial Times, saying the package would help businesses and families “through this winter and the next”.
Freezing the price cap would mean annual energy bills for the average household would remain at £1,971 instead of jumping to £3,549 next month. The overall package could cost the Treasury up to £100 billion.
The money could be provided to energy companies as a loan, and industry bosses are understood to have suggested that this be repaid via a levy on household bills after the crisis has passed. However, this would mean that household bills would not fall as quickly as otherwise.
Truss campaign figures insisted final decisions are yet to be taken, with discussions continuing this week. Keeping prices fixed for both the winter of 2022-23 and 2023-24 would reflect the belief of her campaign that energy bills will remain unusually high into 2024.
Critics of Labour’s plan to freeze bills until the spring of 2023 have argued that the policy is flawed because the price cap would jump at that point.
Ms Truss’s proposed move would protect households from a rise in energy bills for much of the period until the next general election, expected in autumn 2024. Eight in 10 voters want a bills freeze, according to some opinion polls.
Her energy plan will also include help for businesses. Campaign figures have said the problem is much more complicated than that with households because the price cap does not apply to companies.
The second section of Ms Truss’s energy package will focus on increasing supply in the medium term. The moratorium on fracking is expected to be lifted with the change coming into place within weeks, opening the door to drilling for shale gas on the UK mainland if it is supported by local communities.
Removing regulations limiting offshore wind farm construction and North Sea oil drilling are also being worked on.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, warned his MPs not to “underestimate” Ms Truss, saying: “She is a talented politician who has got to the top through hard work and determination.”
But a YouGov poll underscored the electoral challenge she faces – only one in seven respondents said she would be a better prime minister than Mr Johnson.
