Theresa May has confirmed that the Tory manifesto will include measures to cap energy prices.
In a speech at a campaign event in Harrow this morning, the prime minister outlined some of the key policy measures that will be included in the Conservative manifesto, which is pencilled in for publication next Monday (15 May).
She said: “We’re putting together credible and deliverable policies. Policies that are in the national interests, policies like protecting workers pensions against irresponsible bosses, like capping energy prices to support working families.”
Her comments today go beyond those in a speech to Tory activist in Wales in late March when she signalled that the government was willing to go beyond measures to encourage customers to switch suppliers.
And they follow reports last week that ministers on the Thatcherite wing of the Conservative have questioned the government’s moves to regulate energy prices, which resembles moves that were widely criticised by Tories when they were proposed by ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband in 2013.
The prime minister’s comments followed an attack this morning by Centrica on the government’s moves to ramp up regulation of retail energy prices earlier today.
In its trading statement, the British Gas parent company said evidence from other countries suggested that increased price regulation will lead to “reduced competition and choice, and potentially higher average prices”.
Centrica said that in meetings with the government it has pressed the case for alternative ways to address its concerns, which would avoid the resort to price regulation.
Following the Centrica statement, Graham Spooner, investment research analyst at investment advisers The Share Centre, said: “The share price (of Centrica) has been struggling to make any headway, on the back of comments from politicians on both sides of the house regarding capping prices in UK energy market.”