Bridget Phillipson: We don’t need to act yet on fuel duty
The war in Iran has now gone on for one month and concerns continue to grow over the effect the conflict will have on economies all over the world. On Sky News this morning, Bridget Phillipson played down fears of impending fuel shortages, telling British consumers to ‘continue as you are’. Trevor Phillips noted that more than half of the price of fuel goes to the government and asked the Education Secretary why the government isn’t scrapping the proposed 5p rise to fuel duty in September. Phillipson said the Chancellor is ‘absolutely committed’ to protecting British people from the impacts of the conflict and that the government will ‘take a view closer to the time’ on fuel duty.
Phillipson: We’re drifting into conspiracy theory territory
Morgan McSweeney told police that his government-issued phone had been stolen in October last year after Peter Mandelson had been fired as US ambassador but before parliament forced the government to publish all communications relating to his appointment via a humble address. On Wednesday the Conservatives released a statement claiming that the phone theft story ‘stinks to high heaven’ and asking why the former chief of staff’s messages about Mandelson weren’t backed up. On Sky News this morning, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch questioned why McSweeney didn’t tell the police he was working in No. 10 when he reported the crime. On GB News, Bridget Phillipson told Camilla Tominey that phone thefts are a regular occurrence and described suspicion about the story as a ‘conspiracy theory’. Tominey argued there has been a lack of transparency around the timing of the crime, with Labour’s Steve Reed mistakenly suggesting the phone was stolen more than a year ago. Phillipson said all ministers and McSweeney would comply with the humble address and hand over all necessary communications.
Kemi Badenoch: North Sea drilling crucial for security
Kemi Badenoch is calling on the government to reverse a ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, claiming it will create jobs and benefit the UK’s energy, financial and national security. However, critics have argued that expanding North Sea drilling will have minimal effect on prices. On the BBC, Laura Kuenssberg asked Badenoch what the policy would mean for consumers. Badenoch admitted that the drilling wouldn’t ‘go directly on to people’s bills’ but she claimed that the profits and taxes made from extra drilling could be used to subsidise household bills. The Tory leader added that her party’s ‘cheap power plan’ would reduce costs by scrapping the ‘silly’ taxes introduced under Labour’s drive for renewables, arguing that the country is ‘not ready for a full transition’.
Badenoch: Let’s not pretend bailouts don’t have a cost
Laura Kuenssberg also asked Kemi Badenoch who would receive support under a Conservative government in case of a huge spike in energy costs. Badenoch said she was concerned that the government prioritises ‘benefits, benefits, benefits constantly’. She called for the removal of taxes on bills to take the ‘burden off everybody’, without direct government interventions. The Conservative leader also claimed we have to ‘stop pretending that there’s a big pile of cash that Keir Starmer has which he’s going to use to help people’, arguing that taxpayers are the ones funding benefits hand-outs. Kuenssberg asked if the Tories would rule out direct financial support. Badenoch said she isn’t ruling out anything but called on the government to take other measures to reduce costs first.
Zia Yusuf: Politics is about choices
Reform UK has pledged to remove VAT on household energy bills to bring down costs. Laura Kuenssberg asked the party’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf how Reform would pay for the policy. Yusuf claimed the move would be ‘more than covered’ by removing green levies, such as scrapping subsidies for electric cars and heat pumps. Kuenssberg asked if costs for electric cars and heat pumps would then rise for consumers while putting jobs in green industries at risk. Yusuf claimed this was a ‘fallacy’ as green levies were creating jobs in China rather than the UK. He added: ‘The number of “green jobs” created are dwarfed by the number of jobs lost as a result of the insane net zero policies.’ Yusuf suggested that Reform is not opposed to renewable energy if it makes economic sense but claimed the UK has the ‘highest energy costs in the world’ because ‘virtue-signalling politicians [want to be] Greta Thunberg’s best friend’.
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