Month: July 2022

Financial help for the poor and vulnerable needed to be “updated” to reflect higher than predicted bills in October, the Business Committee said.

Its report was also highly critical of the energy regulator Ofgem, which is accused of incompetence for a decade.

In response, Ofgem said it was working hard to reform the market.

In recent days, millions of low-income households on benefits have been receiving the first £326 instalment of payments to assist with the rising cost of living.

Further payments will come later in the year, including extra support for pensioners and people with disabilities, and a £400 discount on everyone’s domestic energy bill.

Those payments were set when the typical energy bill was anticipated to rise by £800 – a prediction Ofgem says is now too low. Influential industry analyst Cornwall Insight has predicted a rise of more than £1,200 a year in October, pushing the typical bill to £3,244 a year from October, then £3,363 a year from January.

A normal bill at present is about £2,000 a year, which follows a £700 a year rise in April.

The Business Committee’s report said the government’s support package was “no longer sufficient”

“The impact of the energy price crisis on households is likely to cause an unacceptable rise in fuel poverty and hardship this winter,” the report said.

“The government must immediately update its support, targeting this at customers who are on low incomes, fuel poor, and in vulnerable circumstances, and develop a scheme to support vulnerable customers to accelerate the repayment of energy debt resulting from this crisis.”

The committee has been hearing from experts, ministers and industry insiders for months.

“We were told by a number of witnesses, ‘if you think things are bad now, you’ve not seen anything yet,'” said Darren Jones, who chairs the committee.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “No national government can control global inflationary pressures; however, we have introduced an extraordinary package of support to help households.”

The wide-ranging report made a series of other recommendations, including:

Members of the Business Committee follow the Public Accounts Committee of MPs in heavily criticising regulator Ofgem for its role in allowing suppliers to set up and operate without sufficient oversight. It said there was too much focus on competition instead.

Owing to the failure of 29 companies, 2.4 million customers were moved to other suppliers, and often to more expensive tariffs, and one large supplier – Bulb – is in special administration.

“Ofgem has proved incompetent as the regulatory authority of the energy retail market over the last decade,” the report said.

“It allowed suppliers to enter the market without ensuring they had access to sufficient capital, acceptable business plans, and were run by individuals with relevant expertise.”

A spokesman for Ofgem said the regulator had been “clear and transparent” that suppliers and its own regime had not been robust enough.

“No regulator can, or should, guarantee companies will not fail in a competitive market but we are working hard to reform the entire market, as well as closely scrutinising and holding individual energy suppliers to account, to further strengthen the regulatory regime,” he said.

The committee also questioned the future of the price cap, which sets a limit on the cost of each unit of energy and the standing charge for domestic customers in England, Wales and Scotland.

It said the government should consider a social tariff instead for the most vulnerable, and then a relative tariff for everyone else.

Social tariffs were phased out by suppliers about a decade ago.

Prepayment meter customers, who pay for their energy in advance, have a different – slightly more expensive – price cap. Citizens Advice has warned that the number of people seeking help because they cannot afford to top up their meter has reached a new record.

This is known as self-disconnections and the committee said that Ofgem and suppliers should identify those at risk and allow them to pay for energy after they have used it.

The MPs also called for an “urgent, far-reaching, and long-term” insulation programme for UK homes.

“Ultimately, the UK needs to reduce its dependence on imported gas. Energy efficiency is the quickest and most cost-effective way to reduce gas demand and lower energy bills,” the report said.

The Ofgem spokesman said: “We are also working with all parts of government and industry on the long-term solution to the energy crisis by moving us away from imports of expensive gas towards a more secure, reliable, home-grown energy system.”

The two contenders to be the next PM did not hold back from “blue-on-blue” attacks in the hour-long BBC special.

Mr Sunak told Ms Truss her tax cut plan would “tip millions of people into misery” and cost the Conservatives the next election.

Ms Truss said tax rises brought in by him would lead to a recession.

The foreign secretary and former chancellor, who until three weeks ago were in the same cabinet, talked over each other at times and shot angry glances across the stage at Stoke-on-Trent’s Victoria Hall.

It led to complaints afterwards by Ms Truss’s supporters that the ex-chancellor was being too aggressive and was “mansplaining” – something fiercely denied by the Sunak camp.

The pair were on better terms by the end of the debate, with Ms Truss saying she would “love” to have Mr Sunak on her team if she becomes PM. The ex-chancellor praised her stance on Russia.

But the row over tax dominated the early exchanges.

Ms Truss wants to scrap the rise to National Insurance, a planned rise in corporation tax and would temporarily scrap green levies on energy bills to be paid for through borrowing.

Mr Sunak says he would not cut taxes until inflation was under control.

Mr Sunak – who quit as chancellor earlier this month – said the coronavirus pandemic had created a large bill and that putting it on the “country’s credit card” would “pass the tab to our children and grandchildren”.

Ms Truss insisted that under her plans the UK would start paying down the debt in three year’s time – and paying it back straight away as Mr Sunak wanted to do would push the UK into a recession.

Mr Sunak suggested her plans would lead to higher interest rates, but the foreign secretary dismiss this as “scaremongering” and “project fear” – an echo of the criticism aimed at the Remain campaign during Brexit referendum.

Mr Sunak took this opportunity to point out that, unlike him, Ms Truss campaigned against Brexit.

“Maybe I learnt from that,” she replied. She later said the Brexit referendum was when she had learnt not to trust Treasury forecasts on the economy.

Other key moments in the debate included:

Mr Sunak’s resignation as chancellor helped trigger the downfall of Mr Johnson.

He praised Mr Johnson’s handling of Brexit and the pandemic but said he had quit as a matter of principle over the PM’s “conduct” and the fact that they had “very different views about the direction of travel on the economy”.

Ms Truss acknowledged the prime minister had made mistakes but said they were not “sufficient” enough for the Conservative Party to have “rejected him”.

Neither said they would accept Mr Johnson in their cabinet.

Chief secretary to the Treasury and Truss-backer Simon Clarke told BBC Breakfast that polling after the debate showed the majority of Conservative voters thought his candidate had won the evening – and it had reaffirmed his view that she was the right candidate to lead the country.

He refused to criticise Mr Sunak for interrupting, but said viewers would have to make up their own minds about his debating style. He added he thought Ms Truss had been “cool, controlled” and had made compelling arguments.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told BBC Breakfast the debate showed a Conservative Party which had “lost the plot and lost its purpose”.

He said Mr Sunak was acting like he had “just come down from the moon” and discovered the economy was in a bad way when he had been in charge of it until three weeks ago, while Ms Truss was playing “fantasy economics” without explaining how she would pay for tax cuts.

“We do need change in the UK but the change we need is not a change at the top of the Conservative Party, it is more fundamental than that. We need a fresh start for Britain. We need a Labour government,” he said.

A Liberal Democrat spokesperson simply said: “Eurgh.”

For all the talk of wanting the “blue-on-blue” attacks to subside – this debate showed they haven’t gone away.

Liz Truss’s campaign accused Rishi Sunak of not letting her get a word in edgeways, and Rishi Sunak continued to slam Liz Truss’s tax cut plans for not being economically sound.

Sources close to Sunak said he had “won the argument” on the economy, with his argument that her tax cuts would further fuel inflation and push up interest rates and people’s mortgages.

Behind the scenes, Truss’s camp feel positive too – claiming that while she stayed calm Sunak was “flustered”.

Debates about their backgrounds haven’t gone away either. Both are keen to distance themselves from any suggestion they had certain privileges.

Truss pointed to her comprehensive school education but distanced herself slightly, though, from the outright attacks on Sunak’s clothing and education from some of her supporters.

But the key battleground – and the biggest dividing line between the two – is still tax.

A former mayor, Rose Furigay, is among the dead. She was attending the graduation of her daughter, who was injured in the shooting in Quezon City.

The alleged gunman has been arrested. He is thought to have been involved in a legal dispute with Furigay.

School and university shootings are rare in the Philippines but killings of politicians are fairly common.

The shooting happened at Ateneo de Manila University, during an event for law students and their families.

Furigay was mayor of Lamitan, a city in the Philippines’ restive south. But police pointed to the suspect’s “long history” of disputes with Furigay.

Her assistant and one of the university’s security guards were also killed during the attack.

Police have said Furigay’s daughter was in a stable condition in hospital.

Alexander Gesmundo, chief justice of the Philippines, was on his way to speak at the ceremony moments before the shooting.

In a statement, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said police would “thoroughly and swiftly investigate these killings and bring all involved to justice”.

Former lawmaker Phyo Zeya Thaw, writer and activist Ko Jimmy, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw were accused of committing “terror acts”.

The executions, which were first announced by the military in June, drew international condemnation.

They come in the wake of a 2021 military coup.

The junta overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) in February last year, sparking huge protests which were swiftly crushed.

The shadow National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), which was formed in opposition to the coup, condemned the killings, saying they were “extremely shocked and saddened”.

It comprises pro-democracy figures, representatives of armed ethnic groups and members of the NLD. They urged the international community to “punish (the) murderous military junta for their cruelty and killings”.

The state news outlet – Global News Light of Myanmar – said the four men were executed as they “gave directives, made arrangements and committed conspiracies for brutal and inhumane terror acts”.

It said they had been charged under the counter terrorism laws, but did not say when or how they were executed.

The executions are the first since 1988, according to the United Nations. Previous executions in Myanmar have been by hanging.

Family members of the four men are waiting at Yangon’s Insein Prison to question authorities, according to BBC Burmese.

They were yet to receive the bodies, Ko Jimmy’s sister told the BBC.

Phyo’s wife, Thazin Nyunt Aung, said she had not been informed of her husband’s execution, Reuters reported. The families have all submitted applications for information on the executions.

The four men were handed the death sentence in January following closed-door trials that human rights groups have criticised as being unjust and non-transparent. Phyo Zeya Tha and Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Ko Jimmy, lost their appeals against their sentences in June.

Ko Jimmy, 53, was a veteran of the 88 Generation Students Group – a Burmese pro-democracy movement known for their activism against the country’s military junta in the 1988 student uprisings. He served multiple stints in prison for his involvement in the pro-democracy movement, before being released in 2012.

He was arrested in October last year after being accused of hiding weapons and ammunition at an apartment in Yangon and being an “advisor” to the National Unity Government.

Phyo Zeya Thaw, 41, was a former NLD lawmaker and a close ally of Suu Kyi.

A former hip-hop artist, he often drew the ire of the junta for his anti-military lyrics. He was arrested in November for alleged anti-terror offences.

Less is known about the two other activists – Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw. They were sentenced to death for killing a woman who was an alleged informer for the junta.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had called the military’s decision to sentence the four activists to death “a blatant violation to the right to life, liberty and security of person”.

Military authorities have intensified their crackdown on local militias, opposition activists and those deemed to be harbouring anti-coup sentiments since they seized power last year.

They claimed the results of a general election that saw Suu Kyi’s political party winning by a landslide were rigged – an accusation election commission officials denied, saying there was no evidence of fraud.

Since the coup, Suu Kyi has been detained under house arrest, and slapped with a litany of charges ranging from corruption to violating the country’s official secrets act, which could see her serving a sentence of up to 150 years.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), which keeps a toll of those killed, jailed or detained by the military, says that 14,847 people have been arrested since the coup, with an estimated 2114 having been killed by military forces.

A senior Conservative MP recounts the words of a local party member, when I ask why so many polls and surveys of Tory party members suggest Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is comfortably more popular than the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, right now at least.

Neither camp dispute the handicapping in this race, before a vote has yet been cast: Such is the consistency of the evidence and the size of the current suggested gap between them.

This is the vital context as Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak head to Stoke-on-Trent.

To offer you a quick canter through it, there was this poll from YouGov, described by the pollster as offering “no good news for Rishi Sunak” when there were still four contenders in the race.

Then there was this one the other day when it was down to the final pair. It suggested a whopping lead for Liz Truss.

And surveys for the Conservative Home website haven’t made for comfortable reading for Rishi Sunak either.

In short, Liz Truss appears out in front. Rishi Sunak has lots of catching up to do.

And so this debate, and the ones to follow, really matter: The stakes are high and the cock-up potential is higher.

Yes, there are 12 hustings happening around the UK in the coming weeks but most Conservative Party members won’t go to one, and plenty that do may already have made up their minds.

Yes, the candidates are hurtling around the place doing grip-and-grin photos with the grassroots to endear themselves to potential supporters. But plenty won’t get to meet either, let alone both candidates.

And so the broadcast battle is vital.

“It is so important. Every party member will see the debate, hear reports about it, clips from it, or be left with some sense of who won it,” one MP tells me.

But remember, the electorate to determine who wins is vanishingly small compared to the population at large.

The Conservatives won’t tell us how many members they have, but we know they had 160,000 last time there was a leadership election three years ago, and it’s thought they have roughly the same number now.

The population of the UK is around 67 million.

Which means less than a quarter of one per cent of the country gets a say in deciding who our next prime minister will be.

But the wider electorate do matter here too.

“The general public don’t have a vote, but they do have a say,” says an MP on Team Sunak.

What do they mean? Well, polling companies will ask after the debates which candidate is preferred by the wider electorate to be prime minister, and the results of those polls will have an influence on party members.

The hope on Team Sunak is this will be good news for them, and help turn the tide in this race.

They cling to the large number of undecided Conservative members, and hope persuading them and convincing others to switch might be enough.

What inside track can I offer about the BBC debate in Stoke?

Firstly we are in Stoke because it is one of the many constituencies won by the Conservatives for the first time at the last general election in 2019.

A clear measure of the success or otherwise of Boris Johnson’s successor will be whether they can hold on to those seats won when he was their leader.

Sophie Raworth is the presenter, there will be a studio audience and I’ll join our economics editor Faisal Islam in offering analysis and some follow-up questions.

The studio audience will be made up entirely of people who voted Conservative at the last general election.

Some who did so for the first time, others who have done for longer. Some who remain loyal to the Conservatives and others who are wavering.

Again, if Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak are to win the next election, keeping people like those in our audience on side will be crucial.

As for the questions they’ll be asked, well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it? As well as your eyes flicking down this article – and thanks for reading – it may well attract the gaze of the campaign teams themselves.

Suffice to say, you can expect us to talk about the economy, given it’s the biggest issue of our time and the two camps have been rowing about their different visions for it.

And the other thing these programmes tend to reveal, regardless of the subject matter, is a sense of the candidates’ personalities.

Both will feel a deficit compared to Boris Johnson, the very definition of the politics as performance politician.

Perhaps any duo of potential successors would appear wooden in comparison. These two, at this stage at least, certainly do.

But the presentational styles of their campaigns are markedly different: Rishi Sunak is slick, Liz Truss pointedly isn’t.

Being slick isn’t necessarily a good thing.

So, it’s the first full week of the contest proper, and probably the biggest audience for a TV debate between the two of them before ballot papers start arriving early next month.

“The Tory way is to vote early” one adviser says to me.

As one veteran of leadership races puts it, “it is a galling process, it is mind-numbingly exhausting and it has only just begun.”

But it is also true to say all sides accept the next few weeks have an outsized importance.

And the debate in Stoke is a big part of that.

In a keynote speech, the Labour leader will say the economy is “brittle” and people are poorer as a result.

He will argue that “rebooting” the economy would be the “defining task” of a Labour government.

It comes as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss trade blows over the economy as they bid to be the next Tory leader and PM.

Sir Keir will use his speech in Liverpool to criticise their “Thatcherite cosplay” and condemn the economic record of successive Conservative governments over the last decade.

“Whether it’s the cost of living or recovering from the pandemic, our economy is weaker than its competitors. Less resilient. Brittle. And ultimately, we are all poorer for it,” he is expected to say.

Labour’s priorities if in government would be “growth, growth, growth”, Sir Keir will say, adding that the party would focus on delivering this in a way that would be “strong, secure and fair”.

The next general election isn’t due until 2025, and both Tory leadership candidates have ruled out calling one earlier.

As part of Labour’s plan to reboot growth, Sir Starmer will announce that his government would establish an Industrial Strategy Council, which will hold government to account and be a “permanent part of the landscape” that sets out strategic national priorities “beyond the political cycle”.

He will also say it is possible to see economic growth while achieving the UK’s target to hit net-zero – where the amount of greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere is balanced by the amount removed.

“We will not be distracted by the siren calls – from the right or the left – that say economic growth and net-zero do not go together,” he will say.

But Sir Keir has been challenged from the left of his party, with former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey calling for a more radical economic policy.

She told The Guardian: “We are living through the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, with household fuel and water bills soaring, while rail fares continue to rack up. It’s critical that Labour remains on the side of public opinion here.”

Meanwhile, the economy has become a key battleground in the Tory leadership race, with former chancellor Mr Sunak describing Ms Truss’s plan to borrow money to fund immediate tax cuts as a “fairytale”.

But Foreign Secretary Liz Truss criticised tax increases introduced by her former cabinet colleague Mr Sunak, arguing they “choked off” growth.

She said the economic policies of previous Conservative and Labour governments over the last 20 years have not delivered growth.

Both candidates have suggested their proposals would be approved of by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The pair will go head-to-head in a live TV debate later – Our Next Prime Minister will be broadcast on BBC One at 21:00 BST on Monday.