UK households and business are facing an unprecedented energy price crisis, partly because our two-party duopoly has failed to build the energy system resilience a modern economy needs.
We need immediate action to prevent households and business from collapsing under the weight of rising energy costs, and needless harm to the UK’s tax base.
To address the immediate crisis, the SDP proposes to use the government’s fiscal power to underwrite a household energy price cap of £2,000 with a commensurate cap for businesses. We will reduce energy prices at source.
* Energy suppliers will be provided with government loan funding for the difference between the wholesale cost of gas and the £2,000 price cap – such loans to be re-payable over 15 years.
* Government will finance this by issuing an Energy Bond with a 15-year repayment term. Every effort will be made to ensure these bonds are taken up by British families and British companies.
This is the only fiscally-credible policy for this crisis put forward by any established UK party. By smoothing the energy price spike across multiple years it will protect business and household viability and apply downward pressure on inflation. Targeting energy prices now is expensive. Not targeting them at all would be more expensive still.
SDP Leader William Clouston commented:
“Once again, the major parties have shown that they have run out of gas and run out of ideas. They should be run out of office.
Only the SDP has a sustainable policy to protect households, businesses and the UK economy.”