Theresa May has set out plans for an energy price cap and a major programme of social home- building in a determined attempt to show the Government is listening to the concerns of disgruntled voters.
The Government will next week publish draft legislation to fulfil the Tory manifesto promise of a limit on energy prices. And an additional £2 billion is to be provided to build “a new generation of council houses”.
The announcements came in the Prime Minister’s keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, in which she promised to “renew the British dream for a new generation of young people” who feel they have been locked out of economic progress.
Mrs May’s speech was interrupted by comedian Lee Nelson, who handed her a P45 unemployment slip in what appeared to be a publicity stunt, before being bundled away by security.
She was also hindered by a persistent cough which at several points left her struggling to speak and forced her to pause for a drink of water.
After a four-day conference dominated by speculation over Boris Johnson’s leadership ambitions, Mrs May made no mention of her Foreign Secretary by name, instead praising the “team” around her in the Cabinet. And she singled out for praise Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, often tipped as one of Mr Johnson’s main potential rivals for the top post.
She apologised for running an election campaign earlier this year which was “too scripted, too presidential” and allowed the Conservatives to be painted as the party of continuity at a time when voters wanted change. And she repeatedly assured delegates that, following the botched poll, “we have listened and we have learned”.
Following the election, Mrs May said that energy companies would be given a chance to make pricing structures fairer.
But she told the conference that it was now clear that the energy market was “broken” and that those being “punished” by higher prices were the most loyal customers, often the poor, elderly and less-educated and those in rented homes.
“While we are in favour of free markets, we will always take action to fix them when they are broken. We will always take on monopolies and vested interests when they are holding people back,” she said. “One of the greatest examples in Britain today is the broken energy market.
“That’s why next week this Government will publish a draft Bill to put a price cap on energy bills, meeting our manifesto promise and bringing an end to rip-off energy prices once and for all.”
Spelling out her plans for social housing, Mrs May said local authorities and housing associations would be invited to bid for a share of the additional £2 billion to
“allow homes to be build for social rent well below market level”.
She said she would “take personal charge” of “getting government back into the business of building houses” and creating “a new generation of council houses to help fix our broken housing market”.
She told house-builders that the Government will ensure that land is available for homes, and in return “you must do your duty to Britain and build the homes our country needs”.
In a highly personal account of her motivations for entering politics, Mrs May recalled the history of her own grandmother, who worked as a domestic servant and made sacrifices in the hope of winning a better future for her family and whose grandchildren now include three professors and a prime minister.
And she said that, even though she and husband Philip – watching in the audience – had not been able to have children, she too wanted future generations to be able to enjoy better lives than those of their parents, something she described as “the British dream”.
She won a standing ovation as she said: “It has always been a great sadness to me and Philip that we were never blessed with children. It seems some things in life are just never meant to be.
“But I believe in the dream that life should be better for the next generation as much as any mother, any father, any grandparent.
“The only difference is that I have the privileged position of being able to do more than most to bring that dream to life. So I will dedicate my premiership to fixing this problem, to restoring hope, to renewing the British dream for a new generation of people.”
Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy welcomed the announcement, saying: “Loyal customers on sky-high standard variable tariffs are paying over the odds for their gas and electricity, including many of the poorest pensioners and families.
“In the last year energy prices have gone up more than three times the rate of inflation for customers of the largest firms, and it is much more difficult for those with the lowest incomes to pay the average extra £89 on their bills.
“The Prime Minister’s announcement of a cap on energy bills could provide a solution to the runaway energy costs that the millions of people on default tariffs have faced for years.”
Lawrence Slade, chief executive of the trade association Energy UK, said more than three million consumers had switched already this year and the number of standard tariffs had fallen by almost a million in the last six months.
He said: “It is important that we do not risk halting this growth of competition and engagement in the market.
“Making our homes energy-efficient would be the most effective way of reducing bills for customers over the long term, which is why we are calling for the Government to make it a fully-funded national infrastructure priority.”
Scottish Power chief executive Neil Clitheroe said a price cap would not encourage more customers to participate in the market and called for standard variable tariffs to be abolished.
He said: “Scottish Power has long argued that, just as you insure your car and home every year and go to the market for the best deal, so every energy customer should engage regularly with the market.
“With millions of customers prompted to look for the best deal, competition would flourish.”
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