Keir Starmer is holding crisis talks as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demands VAT cuts to bring down energy bills for Brits. Mrs Badenoch’s demands come as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices sharply higher.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are now threatening to choke off a second major oil shipping route – known as the Governmentears” in Arabic – to the Red Sea, worsening the situation. The Conservative leader will visit an oil rig off Aberdeen today to launch her new ‘Cheap Power Plan’ and is urging the government to act on it immediately.
She said last night: “I know families and business owners across Britain will be very worried about how the global energy crisis will impact them. That’s why I find it appalling that Labour’s solution is to tax working people to fund a bailout for those on benefits. By drilling in the North Sea and scrapping Ed Miliband’s crazy green taxes, our Cheap Power Plan would reduce bills by £200 for everyone.”
Her appeal comes as Sir Keir Starmer is due to hold emergency Downing Street talks on Monday about finding a solution to the impact of the Middle East crisis. Senior representatives from Shell, BP, Centrica, Equinor, Maersk, HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Lloyd’s of London will attend the roundtable with Sir Keir.
They will discuss how the Government and private sector can work together as the conflict in the Middle East continues to have a significant impact on the British people back home. The Prime Minister is expected to reiterate that the best way to reduce the impact of the war on the cost of living is “de-escalation” and that his government “will always act in the national interest and protect British people”.
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