Liz Truss set to unveil plans to limit energy bill rises - BBC

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New Prime Minister Liz Truss will unveil plans to limit energy bill rises on Thursday, spending billions to protect people from soaring prices.

Typical household energy bills could be capped at around £2,500 a year, with firms also likely to get some relief.

It is unclear how long the support will last, but the government is expected to borrow at least £100bn to pay for it.

Currently, a typical household's annual gas and electricity bill is due to rise from £1,971 to £3,549 in October.

Experts and charities have warned that without help with soaring energy bills, lives will be at risk this winter, as people struggle to afford basic day-to-day living costs.

The increase in consumers' bills follows sharp rises in wholesale gas prices largely due to the conflict in Ukraine, which has reduced supplies of Russian gas.

Ahead of the announcement, Ms Truss said she knew families and firms were worried about "how they are going to make ends meet this autumn and winter".

"Putin's war in Ukraine and weaponisation of gas supply in Europe is causing global prices to rise - and this has only made clearer that we must boost our long-term energy security and supply," she said.

She pledged to "tackle the root cause of these problems, so that we are not in this position again".

To limit the amount customers' bills go up by, the government is expected to compensate energy firms for the difference between the wholesale price for gas and electricity they pay and the amount they can charge customers.

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Customers will not be expected to repay the help, with the huge support package due to be funded by the government borrowing about £100bn.

The final sum will depend on the cost of energy on the international energy markets - which can be extremely volatile - as well as whether additional support is offered to the most vulnerable households.

But Labour said the government should extend a windfall tax on gas and oil company profits to pay for the package - with leader Sir Keir Starmer warning that working people will be footing the bill for "vast" energy firm profits under her plans.

Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary for climate change, told the BBC on Thursday: "We know that the energy companies are making excess profits of £170bn over the next two years

"I cannot understand - apart from ideology and dogma - why the first port of call should not be [taxing] these excess profits."

The government is, however,planning a shake-up of the energy market, the BBC has learned. Following a series of meetings with officials, energy companies - mainly in the nuclear and renewables sector - have agreed in principle to accept new long-term contracts at fixed prices well below current rates, BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt said.

Most accept that the profits they are making currently are not sustainable during a national crisis, he added.

However, Mr Miliband said accepting "slightly lower prices now" would mean "much higher prices" in future and be a "terrible deal for billpayers".

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Rocketing prices are leaving households facing eyewatering energy bills. Several councils are considering setting up "warm banks" - community spaces for people who cannot afford winter heating - while some teachers are warning of cuts to staff, school trips or courses to cover rising costs.

Every household in the UK is already due to be given a one-off £400 discount on their fuel bills from October - a move announced by Ms Truss's defeated leadership rival Rishi Sunak while he was chancellor.

And £650 will be paid to more than eight million low-income households who receive benefits or tax credits, alongside further payments to pensioner households and disabled people.

The current price cap - set by Ofgem and which limits the maximum amount domestic customers can be charged for each unit of energy - is due to increase in October. It will mean a typical household will pay £3,549 a year for their energy.

Unlike households, businesses are not protected by an energy price cap. Many are currently facing even sharper rises in energy bills than households, which could lead to firms going under or cutting their wage bills by firing staff.

But firms are also expected to receive some relief under the new plan.

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• Inflation may be 'significantly lower' under bills plan

The system to support business could be more complex than that for households and is likely to be reviewed more often. According to reports, it could see the government force energy firms to offer specific reductions on the unit price of the energy used by firms.

Business groups have welcomed the plan, although the British Chambers of Commerce warned "it remains to be seen" whether it goes far enough in providing the support that firms need.

Abdul Shahid, who runs the Masala restaurant in Derby city centre, said his business needed help "now, not three months later".

"Our energy bills have more than doubled in many cases and all of our ingredients have gone up as well," he told the BBC's Today programme. "We are definitely thinking about shutting our doors, it's very stressful."

Rosemary Brown, director of Bluebell Dairy, a luxury ice cream maker, said her energy costs had jumped from £35,000 a year to £80,000. That would rise to £225,000 a year if she renewed tomorrow, she added.

"We need help with capping the energy costs for the immediate future. We also strongly need to see some investment from the government in renewable energy so that 12 months along the line we've got systems in place."

If businesses are included, that could see the overall cost of the government support package rise to well above £100bn.

The cost of UK government borrowing is currently at its highest level for eight years, with the yield on 10-year bonds rising above 3%. The rise in yield indicates investors' anticipation that the government will have to borrow more in future. It also means any future borrowing will be more expensive.

Shorter recession

However, some economists have suggested that plans to cap energy bills could mean that increases in the cost of living will peak earlier and be "significantly lower" than previously forecast.

The cost of living is currently rising at its fastest rate in 40 years, with prices 10.1% higher than the same time last year. The rise is largely driven by the sharp rise in energy prices.

Investment bank Goldman Sachs said that a cap on household energy bills could see inflation peak at 10.8% in October, rather than the 14.8% forecast before. It also sees prices falling more quickly as well, with inflation slowing to 2.4% by December 2023.

The Bank of England also said the plan could slow rising prices.

However, both cautioned that there was uncertainty around what exactly the plan will look like and what would happen once any cap is lifted.

Economists also expect the UK to fall into a recession despite Ms Truss' energy support plan - albeit a shorter and less severe one.

The Bank of England predicted the UK will enter a recession later this year - with the Bank's governor Andrew Bailey saying there is little that can be done to stop that happening.

Meanwhile, Ms Truss is also reportedly set to announce she is scrapping the ban on fracking which was introduced in 2019 over concerns it was causing earth tremors.

The controversial gas extraction technique involves drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure solution at a rock layer to release the gas inside.

• RUN FOR FUN: Nine tips to make running more enjoyable
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2022-09-08 07:54:45Z
1559206799

Chris Kaba: No firearm found on man shot dead by police in London - as family call for murder investigation - Sky News

No firearm was found on a man shot dead by police, it has emerged, as his family called for a murder investigation into his killing.

Chris Kaba died after a chase involving armed officers that ended in Streatham Hill, south London, on Monday night.

The police watchdog, which is investigating the shooting, has now confirmed that no non-police firearm was recovered from his vehicle or from the scene.

Image: Chris Kaba was shot by police on Monday

In a statement on Wednesday evening, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said armed officers attempted to stop Mr Kaba's car because it had been linked to a "firearms incident" in the previous days.

The vehicle had activated an automatic number plate recognition camera, the IOPC said, adding that it could not comment further due to an ongoing Met investigation into that incident.

Mr Kaba's Audi was hemmed in by two police cars in a narrow residential street before one round was fired from a police weapon.

The 24-year-old from Wembley, who was due to become a father within months, died in hospital later that night.

His family said on Wednesday they were "devastated" and needed "answers and accountability" over his death.

A statement released through the charity Inquest said Mr Kapa's family "seek a homicide investigation into his death from the outset".

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The IOPC have been told of the demand of the family who "do not want any delay as has happened in other fatal shootings", the statement added.

Speaking before the IOPC's remarks on Wednesday, the family said they had not been told whether or not a weapon was found in a search of Mr Kaba's vehicle.

They appealed for any witnesses to the pursuit or the shooting to come forward.

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Streatham shooting: 'He was so loved'

"We are devastated; we need answers and we need accountability," they said.

"We are worried that if Chris had not been black, he would have been arrested on Monday evening and not had his life cut short."

IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said "We recognise that there is community concern following this incident and we appreciate that questions will remain around how Mr Kaba tragically ended up being fatally shot following an attempted vehicle stop.

"We are working hard to piece together all of the circumstances surrounding this incident and we want to reassure the community that these questions will be answered in due course, however it will take some time before our investigation is able to uncover all of the facts."

The Metropolitan Police earlier expressed its condolences to Mr Kaba's loved ones, saying the force understood that "the family and community want answers".

Commander Alexis Boon said the incident was "extremely concerning" and vowed the force would co-operate with the police watchdog in its aftermath.

Image: The scene in Streatham Hill, south London, where Mr Kaba was shot dead

The officer said: "I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family and friends of the man who died and I recognise the devastating and lasting impact this tragic incident will have on them.

"I understand that this incident is extremely concerning and I would like to reassure the community that the Met is co-operating fully with the Independent Office for Police Conduct as they carry out a thorough and independent investigation."

Speaking at the scene on Tuesday, Kim Alleyne, whose daughter Karimah Waite was engaged to Mr Kaba, said of him: "He was so loved. He was so funny. He was super kind. Crazy. He was always happy. He'd do anything for you.

Image: Kimberly Alleyne spoke to reporters

"He was a fiance, he was due to get married in five months' time. He's got a baby on the way that he's never going to see.

"It's horrible and so shocking and so sad."

Some paying tribute at the scene said Mr Kaba was a rapper known as Madix or Mad Itch 67.

Jefferson Bosela, who was Mr Kaba's cousin, said: "He was a good person, a good, happy guy. He didn't deserve that. No-one deserves that.

"Nobody deserves to be shot by the police, whether they are a good person or a bad person."

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2022-09-07 20:26:15Z
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The end of UK's live music scene as we know it? Warning of closures as venues face energy price hikes 'of up to 1,400%' - Sky News

After a dire period during the pandemic, music venue owners had hoped this would be the year to properly kick-start the UK's world-renowned live scene once again.

But while thousands of fans have enjoyed a summer of gigs and festivals, the industry is now facing its next existential crisis - spiralling energy bills, with some venues seeing increases of up to 1,400%, according to one model.

The energy price cap currently does not apply to businesses, so music venues - which need to power stage lighting and sound on top of everyday costs - are being hit with increases of tens of thousands of pounds when the time comes to renew their energy contracts.

"It's come to the point where we just won't be able to afford to run everything," says Jamie Northrop, who runs the 150-capacity venue Alexander's Live, in Chester. "We are doing everything we can to mitigate against the rises - installing timer switches on everything, all our beer coolers, all our fridges and freezers, ensured all our lighting is energy efficient.

"We've literally done everything we can. But to continue opening the doors, we can't do any more - we have to turn stuff on. And the hike that's coming at us now is just unmanageable.

"You've got all the sound, the stage, the lighting. It literally is all about electricity. Without electricity, there's nothing."

Currently paying about £8,000 a year for electricity, the cost for Alexander's is set to almost quadruple, to £29,500, at the next renewal in October.

More on Energy Crisis

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Mr Northrop is not alone. According to the Music Venue Trust charity, there are at least 300 grassroots venues, of the 900 or so that it works with, facing "immediate" threat of permanent closure. However, chief executive Mark Davyd says the situation is likely far graver, as while many venues are not facing imminent contract renewal in the next few months, it is coming later down the line.

Industry leaders say many venue bosses are too afraid to speak out publicly, for fear that landlords or suppliers may pull the plug, or call debts in early. Some attempting to renew contracts are finding that new energy companies simply won't take them on, so say they are forced to stay with their current provider, whatever the increase may be.

Image: Alexander's Live in Chester is among hundreds of venues facing price hikes

Bosses at one venue, who did not want it to be named, told the UK Music organisation they had been quoted an "eye-watering" £42,000 a year for fuel - more than treble the previous bill of £13,200 - with the supplier saying they would only accept full payment in advance.

"It's almost like a horrible circle where the higher the prices get, the more difficult it is to find anybody who actually will supply you," says Mr Davyd.

Government announcement on energy expected this week - but will it be enough?

New Prime Minister Liz Truss has confirmed an announcement on energy will be made on Thursday. However, there are concerns it may not go far enough.

Jon Collins, the chief executive of industry body LIVE - which represents 14 live music associations, including the Music Venue Trust - says that in the wake of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and "skyrocketing" energy prices "could spell the end of the UK's live music scene as we know it".

Releasing results of an industry survey, LIVE said venues were facing increases of anything from 300% to 1,400%.

And while the COVID pandemic was a tough time for the industry, Mr Davyd says that at least there was an expectation that it would come to an end.

"This actually needs some slightly more radical thinking, frankly," he says. "We have the first issue, which is can [venues] immediately meet the terms and conditions of their energy supply right now?

"But then beyond that, what is the long-term future of energy supply for this sector? Can we actually withstand this level of energy bills? After we resolve the immediate problem, that's something we really need government to take a long look at.

"Energy costs in this sector are going from between 3.5 and 5% of gross turnover, up to a range of 26 to 30% of gross turnover. That is absolutely unsustainable."

Image: The Big Pink. Pic: Ashley Rommelrath

The cost of living crisis has been devastating for millions, with some households having to make choices between food and heating. Many would argue the effect on live music, or other industries, is not an issue they can afford to care about.

But for musicians, singers and bands - and fans - the loss of smaller venues means artists have nowhere to build a fanbase, no platform to grow from. And once these venues have gone, they are gone; industry leaders say it is very hard - and expensive - to start a music venue from scratch.

"It's the first experience of getting up on a stage, of playing in front of people," says Robbie Furze, frontman of electro-rock band The Big Pink. "You can't just jump to Wembley Stadium, it doesn't work like that."

And gigs at smaller venues, he says, are a different experience. "It's dark, it's sweaty, you're about three or four feet from the first person in the crowd. That's what it's all about. When you're miles away from the stage, you don't get the same experience."

Furze also highlights the importance of music and the arts on mental health. "If we take away the arts, we might find ourselves with deep depressions in [young people]," he says. "If anyone underestimates that, they're idiots."

Opened in 1992, like dozens of grassroots venues up and down the country, Alexander's has hosted many acts in their early days, before they went on to become household names.

Image: Pic: AP

Duffy used to sing at their open mic nights, says Mr Northrop. "And Ed Sheeran played for us when he was doing his first ever tour. When you look back through our history, we've had Space, Dodgy, Maverick Sabre..."

When a music venue closes, that's potentially years of music history lost.

"We all saw just how miserable life was without live music during the pandemic, when venues were closed for months," says Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, chief executive of UK Music. "The high cost of energy bills could now close them forever."

But industry bosses say that even if some politicians don't seem to care about the cultural loss, the live music industry is big business in the UK.

"These are the ignition systems of a night-time economy," says Mr Davyd. "Why do people leave their houses? They go out to go to the cinema, to the theatre, to music venues. Then they also go to restaurants and pubs and bars while they're out.

"It's a reason why people go out. We really do need them in our towns and cities to make sure we have active nightlife economies. Huge numbers of jobs are reliant on gigs taking place, on theatres being open.

"The music industry itself is £5.5bn of turnover, hospitality's over £100bn. It's one of our fastest-growing industries."

In response to the concerns, a spokesperson for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport directed Sky News to Ms Truss's first speech on Tuesday.

On the energy crisis, she said: "We will get spades in the ground to make sure people are not facing unaffordable energy bills and we will also make sure that we are building hospitals, schools, roads, and broadband.

"Secondly, I will deal hands-on with the energy crisis caused by Putin's war. I will take action this week to deal with energy bills and to secure our future energy supply."

At Alexander's, Mr Northrop remains positive about the venue's survival - but says he does not want to pass on costs to his customers.

"I'm very confident that we will remain. But I wouldn't want to remain by telling everybody they're going to have to pay seven, eight, nine pounds a pint. I'd much rather say we're going to remain because the government has stepped in and actually dealt with the energy crisis. I don't think it's fair on the nation to be picking up other people's messes."

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2022-09-07 14:46:34Z
1559206799

Liz Truss: New prime minister installs allies in key cabinet roles - BBC

No 10

Liz Truss has rewarded her key allies with top jobs in a major reshuffle hours after succeeding Boris Johnson as prime minister.

Kwasi Kwarteng is made chancellor, James Cleverly becomes foreign secretary and Suella Braverman replaces Priti Patel as home secretary.

One of Ms Truss's closest friends, Therese Coffey, is appointed as health secretary and deputy PM.

Her new cabinet will meet ahead of her first Prime Minister's Questions later.

None of those who backed her defeated rival, Rishi Sunak, will remain in her full cabinet, with Dominic Raab, Grant Shapps, George Eustice and Steve Barclay all returning to the backbenches.

But Ms Truss's press secretary said the changes would "unify" the Tory Party and pointed to senior roles for five of her leadership rivals: Suella Braverman, Tom Tugendhat as security minister, Kemi Badenoch as trade secretary, Penny Mordaunt as leader of the Commons, and Nadhim Zahawi as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

For the first time, none of the top four "great offices of state" - prime minister, chancellor, home secretary and foreign secretary - is held by a white man.

• Follow live updates
• New cabinet: Who is in Liz Truss's top team?
• In pictures: Liz Truss becomes UK's 56th PM

Meanwhile, the new PM made her first call to a fellow foreign leader, pledging the UK's ongoing support to Ukraine in a call with president Volodymyr Zelensky.

No 10 said Ms Truss was also "delighted" to accept an invitation to visit Ukraine.

She later spoke to US President Joe Biden, where the pair discussed the importance of the UK reaching an agreement with the EU over post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland.

A near total purge of Sunak backers

There are a handful of striking things about the composition of Liz Truss's cabinet.

There has been a near total purge of those who backed Rishi Sunak.

The only one who I can spot is Michael Ellis, the new attorney general for England and Wales.

And even he will attend cabinet rather than being a cabinet minister, subtle though that distinction is.

This dominance of Truss campaign supporters around the Truss top table is already prompting grumbling among some Tory MPs, although we do await appointments to the more junior ranks in government.

The prime minister's desire for loyalty and building a government in her own image runs the risk of provoking rebellion down the track.

Read more from Chris here.

Ms Truss finished her first tranche of appointments late on Tuesday, with new Chancellor Mr Kwarteng tweeting that getting the job was "the honour of a lifetime".

He is expected to spend his first day meeting chief executives of various banks to brief them on his outlook.

Mr Kwarteng is also understood to be finalising plans for energy bill support which would see a typical household bill capped at around £2,500 a year.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was one of the few senior minister to retain his job, where he has earned plaudits in his response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Nadine Dorries, who backed Ms Truss, said she had been asked by the new PM to stay on as culture secretary but had decided to quit front-line politics.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, an early supporter of Ms Truss, was appointed business, energy and industrial strategy secretary.

Mr Sunak, the former chancellor whose resignation helped trigger the downfall of Boris Johnson, had already made it clear he did not expect to be offered a new job.

But his supporters had urged Ms Truss to appoint an "inclusive" cabinet and not simply surround herself with loyalists.

Ms Truss was appointed the 56th prime minister of the UK by the Queen, in a ceremony at Balmoral on Tuesday.

She returned to a rain-lashed Downing Street, where in a short speech she vowed to grow the economy through tax cuts and reform; take action to deal with energy bills and put the health service on "a firm footing".

• RUN FOR FUN: Nine tips to make running more enjoyable
• DOGGY DIET: Is expensive dog food actually better?

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2022-09-07 01:58:07Z
1552298007

Liz Truss's first cabinet: Who's in and who's out - BBC

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Prime Minister Liz Truss has finished assembling her cabinet team.

We take a look at who is known to be leaving government, and some of the possible new faces.

• New cabinet: Who is in Liz Truss's top team?
• Liz Truss: From teenage Lib Dem to Tory PM
• Kwasi Kwarteng: Chancellor who likes a challenge

Who's in the Cabinet?

In her top team, Truss has appointed:

• Chancellor - Kwasi Kwarteng. He was previously business secretary.
• Home secretary - Suella Braverman
• Foreign secretary - James Cleverly He was previously education secretary
• Deputy prime minister - Therese Coffey
• Health secretary - Coffey, who is a close ally of Truss, also takes this role
• Education secretary - Kit Malthouse
• Defence secretary - Ben Wallace
• Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, running the Cabinet Office - Nadhim Zahawi. He's also minister for intergovernmental relations and minister for equalities.
• Business, energy and industrial strategy secretary - Jacob Rees-Mogg
• Culture secretary - Michelle Donelan
• Levelling up secretary - Simon Clarke
• Environment secretary - Ranil Jayawardena
• International trade secretary -leadership contender Kemi Badenoch
• Work and pensions secretary - Chloe Smith
• Transport secretary - Anne-Marie Trevelyan
• Justice secretary - Brandon Lewis
• Northern Ireland secretary - Chris Heaton-Harris
• Scotland secretary - Alister Jack
• Wales secretary - Sir Robert Buckland
• COP president - Alok Sharma
• Leader of the Commons, the role that looks after legislation - Penny Mordaunt
• Leader of the Lords - Lord True

Jake Berry - who chairs the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs - is Tory chairman and minister without portfolio, and Wendy Morton is the first Conservative female chief whip.

New Chief Secretary to the Treasury Chris Philp, Attorney General Michael Ellis, foreign office minister Vicky Ford and security minister Tom Tugendhat will also attend cabinet.

James Heappey becomes minister for armed forces and veterans, while Graham Stuart is climate minister and Edward Argar is the new paymaster general.

Who's out?

On Monday, Home Secretary Priti Patel and Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries made it known they would be standing down.

Ms Patel had been expected to be replaced at the Home Office but insisted leaving government was "her choice". Ms Dorries - a prominent figure in the Truss campaign - was asked to stay on, but plans to return to writing novels.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab - who backed Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest - has confirmed he is returning to the backbenches. So too are Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Health Secretary Steve Barclay, Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark, and Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara.

Reuters

Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, who attended Cabinet, has also been sacked. As has another figure who attended Cabinet, party co-chairman Andrew Stephenson.

Another Sunak supporter - former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove - has said he expects not to be a member of the new government.

It's thought unlikely Rishi Sunak himself will feature in Ms Truss's team - he told the BBC a return to the cabinet was "not something I'm thinking about".

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC's World At One he had been offered a cabinet job but turned it down in favour of staying on the backbenches.

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2022-09-07 00:18:20Z
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Liz Truss becomes UK prime minister and turns to £100bn energy package - Financial Times

Liz Truss has taken office as Britain’s new prime minister and will on Tuesday finalise a package that could cost more than £100bn to address the UK’s energy crisis and protect households and business.

The emergency measures, which will lead to a sharp increase in government borrowing, are the priority for the new administration. Truss was appointed by Queen Elizabeth at the monarch’s Balmoral estate in Scotland on Tuesday after beating her rival Rishi Sunak for the Conservative party leadership.

Her plan would involve capping household energy bills at about £2,500 for the next two winters. This is larger than the current cap of £1,971 although consumers will also receive a previously announced one-off payment of £400 to help offset price rises.

The Truss plan will shield households from surging gas and electricity prices. The cap had previously been scheduled to leap to £3,549 next month with a projected increase to above £6,000 in 2023.

Truss’s plan for households is mooted to cost about £90bn and would be funded by government borrowing, rather than as taxpayer-backed loans to energy companies to be recouped through higher bills over 10 to 20 years.

Truss’s team is still finalising separate measures to protect businesses from potential ruin. “That’s the part of the package that’s most fluid,” said one person close to the discussions.

The business element, which is being drawn up by Jacob Rees-Mogg, expected to be the new business secretary, could add tens of billions of pounds to the final bill. “It will be extraordinarily huge,” said one ally of the new prime minister.

Truss, a small-state, low-tax Conservative by instinct, will thus make her first act in Downing Street a massive state intervention in the energy market.

The new prime minister’s team has taken the view that since governments can borrow more cheaply than energy companies, the rescue package should be treated as government debt.

“If it was done as loans the whole thing would have been more expensive and you’d have had to start explaining how the loans would be repaid, by whom and over what timescale,” said one person briefed on the plan.

Allies of Truss noted that the precise cost of the scheme was dependent on the movement of wholesale gas prices in the next 18 months, with the taxpayer exposed to big further increases.

Under the plans, the government would subsidise the wholesale cost of gas, allowing suppliers to cap the price of energy to households and businesses.

One senior official confirmed that Truss’s team was drawing up the plans ahead of a potential announcement on Thursday: “There will be a cap, freeze or guarantee on the wholesale gas market,” he said.

Truss will address the nation as PM for the first time in a speech from Downing Street at about 4pm, after which she will begin to name her cabinet.

The rescue package will be a huge challenge for Britain’s straitened public finances and for Kwasi Kwarteng, who is expected to be named chancellor, since Truss has also promised tens of billions of pounds of tax cuts.

Boris Johnson’s family, political colleagues, staff and supporters applaud during his speech on Tuesday © Neil Hall/EPA/Shutterstock

Ahead of the transition of power, outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson gave a defiant speech outside Downing Street, reeling off a list of his administration’s achievements. But he promised to give his wholehearted support to the new Truss administration.

“I’m like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function and I will be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote, obscure corner of the Pacific,” he said.

“Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough and will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support.”

Some historians believe that Cincinnatus — despite his famous plough quote — later made a comeback as ruler, a fact that classics graduate Johnson will have been aware of.

Johnson did not dwell on the host of complex dilemmas facing his successor, which range from soaring inflation and an expected recession to a wave of strikes, or his own personal conduct as prime minister.

Instead, he chose to focus on positive points, saying that private sector investment was “flooding in” and unemployment was at its lowest level for half a century. “We got this economy moving again, despite the opposition and the naysayers.”

He declared he had left the economy strong enough to enable the new administration to give people “the cash they need” to get through the energy crisis.

“If Putin thinks he can succeed by bullying or blackmailing the British people, he is utterly deluded,” added Johnson.

He said his government had “got Brexit done”, carried out the fastest Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Europe, started work on high-speed rail lines and delivered early supplies of weapons to the Ukrainian government soon after Russia’s invasion.

Johnson could not resist a final dig at the Tory MPs who had brought him down in July despite him winning a vote of confidence early in the year.

“The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race . . . they changed the rules halfway through, but never mind that now.”

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2022-09-06 14:28:08Z
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