Say what you like about the Tories, and in general I’m not a fan, but they are, at least, taking some action on the energy crisis.
The new Prime Minister of Britain, Liz Truss, has announced a raft of measures that her government believes will ease the burden on hard-pressed citizens chafing under a cost-of-living crisis.
The plan, which seeks to help both households and businesses, is expected to cost a whopping £150 billion, but Truss has said that she believes “extraordinary challenges call for extraordinary measure” and that she wants to ensure that the UK “is never in this situation again”.
Under these plans, annual energy bills for a typical household are capped at roughly £2,500 for the next two years from October 1st. While £2,500 is still a steep increase on what might have been paid last year, many families will be relieved that a limit has been placed on runaway electricity bills, which might have reached £6,000 according to some estimates.
Truss says that the same cap will also be made available to businesses and charities – but only for 6 months. She is also scrapping green levies – which come to £150 a year for the average household.
But what’s most striking is that the British Prime Minister is, in effect, giving the green agenda the middle finger, in so far as it is holding Britain back.
She recognises that her country cannot simply continue to pretend that a switch away from fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, is do-able when renewable alternatives are not reliable and will leave her citizens freezing in the winter or sitting in the dark.
Truss is also pledging to lift the moratorium on fracking – drilling for shale gas – hoping to get domestic gas supplies flowing ‘within 6 months, according to reports, though she has promised consultation with local communities.
The plan for energy will also focus for more North Sea oil and gas projects, so that Britain will not be so reliant on outside sources for energy.
There will be many, here and in Britain, who oppose Downing Street’s plans and who insist that the ban on fracking and drilling must continue. It must also be acknowledged that the enormous borrowings required for Britain’s interventions is both daunting and possibly perilous.
The international bond markets may react badly to such huge additional borrowings, and some already have, and a rising cost of borrowing will add to Britain’s woes.
But the contrast between the British response and the dithering of the Irish government could not be more pronounced. Eamon Ryan is telling us to take cold showers, while Liz Truss puts the wellbeing of her people first.
We should take note of this trend. And we should take action to reverse it.