PMQs: who will take credit for SSE’s price freeze?

Perhaps both David Cameron and Ed Miliband will try to take credit for SSE’s announcement that it is freezing its prices until 2016 when they tussle at PMQs. Number 10 this morning said:

‘Anything which helps consumers with their bills is to be welcomed, of course and one of the things that the company is explaining today is it is able to, a principle reason why it is able to make this decision is because of the rolling back of the green levies and green charges, which is a result of this government.’

This is true, but it’s not quite the full picture. The only reason the government decided to roll back the ‘green crap’ is that Labour spooked ministers with its energy prize freeze announcement. It was the political game-changer of the autumn. SSE might be freezing its prices because it can, rather than because Ed Miliband scared the company, but Labour did have a role in today’s announcement.