As UK Prepares for New PM, Truss 'Mulls Freezing' Energy Bills to Avoid ‘Armageddon Scenario’

With the clock ticking down until the announcement of the UK's new Prime Minister, The Telegraph reported that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will mull freezing energy bills for millions of British households this winter to avoid “an Armageddon scenario”, if she wins the Tory leadership race.

The winner is scheduled to be announced later on Monday before officially moving into 10 Downing Street on September 6th.

The Telegraph cited unnamed sources as saying that the option of freezing energy bills has been “extremely actively explored” by Truss campaign officials and that Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, tipped to become chancellor if Truss wins the Tory leadership race, appeared “very open” to the idea.

One Truss team insider in turn expressed confidence that “there will be a mechanism introduced that freezes bills,” while another argued that the idea had been discussed “quite a lot in the last fortnight.”

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The sources told The Telegraph that “the specifics of such an energy bills freeze – exactly who would benefit, how long for, at what price level and the degree to which the taxpayer would cover the cost – remains a point of debate.”

The claims followed the foreign secretary’s interview with the BBC, in which she rejected concerns over “an Armageddon scenario” for the crisis-hit British economy, claiming that the country “had been through” tougher troubles “in the past.”

“We [Britons] have the attitude and spirit to get through it”, Truss said, pledging that if she becomes the next UK prime minister, she “will be clear with the public about the challenges we face and the tough decisions we need to make.”

“If I'm elected as prime minister, within one week I will make sure there is an announcement on how we are going to deal with the issue of energy bills and of long-term supply to put this country on the right footing for winter,” Truss stressed.

The foreign secretary also promised that she would “act immediately on bills and on the energy supply because she thinks “those two things go hand in hand”.

The remarks came after the top UK diplomat vowed swift steps to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and deliver a “broader plan” to make the UK economy “more resilient and competitive” if she wins the Tory leadership race.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph, Truss wrote that she understands how “challenging the cost of living crisis is for everyone,” admitting that “these are tough times and the months ahead will be hard.”

“If elected, I plan within the first week of my new administration to set out our immediate action on energy bills and the energy supply. A fiscal event would follow later this month from my chancellor, with a broader package of action on the economy," she pointed out.

Annual energy bills for the average UK household are set to jump from £1,971 to £3,549 from this October when the change in the price cap comes into force.

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The 80% increase in the energy price cap was announced by the UK energy regulator Ofgem last month against the backdrop of growing global energy prices. Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley warned that energy prices are likely to continue being on the rise, and urged the UK’s future prime minister to take new measures to tackle the problem.

The pain of the energy crisis is already being felt in various sectors of the British economy. Seven in ten British pubs have said they may go out of business this winter, while National Health Service (NHS) executives have warned they may have to cut back services and lay off staff as their energy costs are set to double or even triple.

In late February, Truss warned that the sanctions London – along with other Western countries - had slapped on Moscow in retaliation for Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine would worsen the UK cost of living crisis, and that the UK must be prepared to take an “economic hit”.

Moscow’s special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine was launched on February 24 following requests from the Donbass republics to protect them from Kiev.