Who’s going to save businesses from soaring energy costs?

Who doesn’t want lower electricity bills, and sympathise with households who will be unable to keep themselves warm this winter? But there is something rather missing from the Dutch auction between Keir Starmer and the two Tory leadership candidates over promises to help with household energy bills. What about businesses, whose gas and electricity bills are uncapped, and which face being forced into bankruptcy by surging prices?

Households may have seen their bills rise by 50 per cent since the beginning of the year, and face seeing them double by the end of the coming winter. But they do at least benefit from having politicians falling over each other to help them. The government has already promised a handout of £400 to all households (even wealthy ones) and met with energy companies last week to try to trash out a further deal. Starmer wants to keep prices at their current capped rate for a further six months, funded by a further windfall tax — this time backdated to January.