Liz Truss considering energy bills freeze if she becomes PM, say reports

theguardian.com:

Liz Truss could introduce a price freeze for some energy bills, it has emerged, as the MP widely tipped to be her chancellor if she is announced as the new Conservative leader promised her government would be “bold”.

Truss has consistently refused to explicitly set out what she would do to combat soaring energy costs if she becomes prime minister, which will formally happen on Tuesday should she, as expected, defeat Rishi Sunak for the party leadership.

Speaking on Sunday, Truss promised an announcement on how to help people with bills within her first week in No 10 if elected, but declined again to give any details.

But she failed to rule out a government-imposed freeze on bills, as proposed by Labour. Overnight, the Times and Daily Telegraph reported that her team has been in talks about potentially doing this, although such help could be more targeted than Labour’s universal proposal.

Writing an article in Monday’s Financial Times, Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, who is understood to be Truss’s choice for chancellor if she wins, said a new government would need to take “decisive action” on the economy and bills.

Kwarteng, who closely shares Truss’s beliefs about the need for a lower-tax, low-regulation economy, conceded in the article that helping people as well as her promises of immediate tax reductions would lead to government borrowing increasing for a time, but promised a “fiscally responsible” approach.

Some observers, including senior Tory MPs, have warned that Truss’s economic plan risks fuelling inflation, and could push up interest rates.

The former minister David Davis, who comes from the same low-tax wing of the Conservative party, said on Sunday that Truss should “think quite hard about” her plans.

“The