UK Energy Costs

Steve Brine Excerpts

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will take a few more interventions in a few minutes, but I ask Members please to let me make progress on my speech.

Secondly, today’s actions will deliver substantial benefits to our economy—boosting growth, which increases tax receipts, and giving certainty to business. This intervention is expected to curb inflation by up to five percentage points, bringing a reduction in the cost of servicing Government debt.

Thirdly, I am announcing today that, with the Bank of England, we will set up a new scheme worth up to £40 billion to ensure that firms operating in the wholesale energy market have the liquidity they need to manage price volatility. This will stabilise the market and decrease the likelihood of energy retailers needing our support, as they did last winter.

By increasing supply, boosting the economy and increasing liquidity in the market, we will significantly reduce the cost to Government of this intervention.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

It is very kind of the Prime Minister to give way to so many sensible Members.

Today is clearly a big intervention, and the Government are, as she promised, wrapping their arms around my constituents, as we did during the pandemic. Looking to the future, can she confirm that the plans are primarily about domestic supply rather than imported reliance and are therefore in line with the important commitments we made at COP26 in Glasgow and with our commitment to the path to net zero made in our manifesto three years ago?

[The Prime Minister]

I am completely committed to net zero by 2050 and I will be saying more about how we will be achieving that later in this speech.

As well as dealing with the immediate situation we face, we are also dealing with the root causes.