When Liz Truss spoke from the steps of Downing Street on Monday, she declared proudly that she ‘campaigned as a conservative’ and would ‘govern as a conservative’. It was a dig at her leadership rival Rishi Sunak, who she beat by 15 percentage points, and who she accused throughout the campaign of having lost his way over tax hikes during his time in the Treasury. He insisted this was the path to fiscal responsibility; she insisted it was the path to recession.
Yet Truss’s first policy announcement of her premiership – and quite possibly one of the biggest announcements she’ll make as Prime Minister – is not one you can call ‘conservative’. To tackle rising energy bills, Truss has decided to use one of the most popular (and radical) tools from the socialist economic handbook: price controls.
What is most remarkable is that Truss and her team are holding up price controls as the solution to the energy crisis: a concept that has led to devastating consequences in the past
Truss confirmed the details of her plans today in parliament.
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