Energy Bills
Debate between Ed Davey and Angela Watkinson(10 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Davey
The hon. Gentleman shows his lack of understanding of the policy. It is very important that we have Government policies to tackle fuel poverty and boost energy efficiency, and I would have thought he would welcome that. We are combining those policies with our very strong policies on competition. I only wish that when Labour was in government it had pursued competition policies as rigorous as ours.
Dame Angela Watkinson (Hornchurch and Upminster) (Con)
Will my right hon. Friend describe to the House just how much control he has over global gas wholesale prices?
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Neither I nor my predecessor, nor the Leader of the Opposition when he was doing my job, has any control over international gas markets. That is why Labour’s policy of a price freeze makes no economic sense whatsoever. During that freeze we could find some small suppliers making serious losses or going out of business if wholesale prices went up. That would reduce competition and we would be back to the big six. Of course, that is what Labour wants, because it created the big six.