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Theresa May promises to 'put a price cap on energy bills' in latest u-turn during conference speech Theresa May promises to 'put a price cap on energy bills' in latest u-turn during conference speech
(about 2 hours later)
Theresa May has promised to "put a price cap on energy bills", reversing the U-turn that saw her abandon the idea just a few months ago. Theresa May has promised to put a price cap on "rip-off" energy bills, reversing the U-turn that saw her abandon the idea just a few months ago.
The Prime Minister said the existing price system "punishes loyalty with higher prices" hitting "people on low incomes, the elderly and people with low qualifications".The Prime Minister said the existing price system "punishes loyalty with higher prices" hitting "people on low incomes, the elderly and people with low qualifications".
"Next week, this government will publish a draft bill to put put a price cap on energy bills to meet our manifesto commitment and bring an end to rip off energy prices once and for all," she told the Tory conference. In an extraordinary speech interrupted by a prankster and where she struggled with a persistent cough, Ms May accused energy giants of hiking bills for customers who do not shop around for a better deal.
More follows… It comes after more than 70 Tory MPs signed a cross-party letter urging her to resurrect the cap amid concern that millions of customers are being ripped off by energy giants.
Addressing the Tory party conference, Ms May said: "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.
"One of the greatest examples in Britain today is the broken energy market. The energy market punishes loyalty with higher prices and the most loyal customers are often those with lower incomes, the elderly, people with lower qualifications and people who rent their homes.
"Those who, for whatever reason, are unable to find the time to shop around.
"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."
The move prompted a swift backlash from business leaders and triggered a slump in the share price of energy firms.