Boris Johnson has hit out at his expected successor Liz Truss’s plans for fracking as he confirmed £700m in government funding for a proposed new nuclear power plant at Sizewell in Suffolk.
The Tory leadership frontrunner has promised to lift a moratorium on the controversial technology as part of a drive to improve the security of the UK’s energy supplies in the wake of the eye-watering spike in gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But in his last policy speech before leaving 10 Downing Street on Tuesday, Mr Johnson said he was “dubious” that fracking would be a “panacea” and warned the new PM not to “put all our eggs in that particular basket”.
He urged his successor instead to press ahead with his plans for eight nuclear reactors and major investment in offshore wind.
The go-ahead for Sizewell C came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the spike in energy prices is hitting UK household budgets harder than any other country in western Europe.
The average UK household will lose 8.3 per cent of its total spending power to energy bills this year, compared to 4 per cent in Germany or Spain, found the global economic body, which blamed Britain’s unusually heavy reliance on gas for domestic heating and electricity generation.
And the impact of higher prices is “especially skewed” in the UK towards poorer households, said the IMF’s Oya Celasun.
The poorest 10 per cent of UK households are expected to spend 17.8 per cent of their budget on energy in 2022, compared to just 6.1 per cent for the richest 10 per cent. The difference of 11.7 percentage points far outstrips the 3.9 point gap between rich and poor forecast for France and 2.5 points for the Netherlands.
An alliance of 48 charities sent an open letter warning of a “tsunami of need” caused by the cost of living crisis and calling on ministers to deliver “urgent and meaningful” financial support to the most vulnerable.
The charity bosses said an “economic crisis of a magnitude not experienced for decades” will push many who have previously managed to make ends meet into poverty and plunge those currently struggling into “desperation”.
“We are calling on the government to urgently deliver meaningful financial support to those in the greatest need, directly to households and through the benefits systems that already exist to provide support,” they said.
Mr Johnson said he was confident that the new prime minister who takes over from him on Tuesday will deliver “substantial sums” in support for those hit by the energy crisis caused by Putin’s “kamikaze attack on the world economy”.
“Of course, there will be more cash to come whoever takes over from me in the months ahead – substantial sums, that’s absolutely clear,” said the PM, who was mocked for suggesting people could invest £20 on a new kettle to save £10 a year on bills.
But there was no further detail from leadership contenders Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss on any package, though frontrunner Ms Truss promised immediate and “robust” help for those facing unaffordable bills.
Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi confirmed the Treasury is drawing up options for the incoming PM, which would include an industry scheme for a government fund to compensate companies for holding down domestic bills, currently set to hit an average of £3,549 in October.
Ms Truss has spoken out during the leadership election campaign against solar farms in the countryside and said she would allow fracking where it was supported by local communities.
But Mr Johnson insisted that renewable energy, alongside nuclear, was the key to resolving the UK’s dependence on imported fossil fuels.
“I tell everybody who thinks hydrocarbons are the only answer and that we should get fracking and all that: offshore wind is now the cheapest form of electricity in this country,” he said. “Offshore wind is nine times cheaper than gas.”
He said that the state cash for Sizewell should allow developers EDF to get the project “over the line” in the coming weeks, though the final green light will be a matter for his successor next year.
Britain’s failure to build new plants since 1995 meant the UK derives only 15 per cent of its electricity from nuclear, compared to 70 per cent in France, he said.
But the PM got short shrift as he tried to place blame delays in replacing the UK’s ageing nuclear power network on the “myopia” of previous Labour governments. Ed Miliband pointed out that Tory-led administrations had failed to proceed with 10 sites given the go-ahead under Gordon Brown in 2009.
Unions said that state backing for the £30bn 3.2-gigawatt plant should have been delivered long ago for the sake of jobs and energy security.
Unite energy officer Simon Coop said: “Even today, there is no guarantee that this project will progress in 2023 because Boris Johnson’s decision will have to be ratified by the next prime minister.
“Where we needed certainty and a clear road map to energy security, we got more waffle, more hollow words from Boris Johnson.”
And the GMB’s national secretary Andy Prendergast said: “Today’s decision is a belated step in the right direction – but it should have happened years ago.”
Mr Johnson was greeted at the Sizewell site by protesters opposed to the disruption and environmental damage they expect from the massive construction project.
The Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) group launched legal proceedings over what its lawyers claim are “fundamental legal errors … in respect of water, alternatives to nuclear power, local wildlife and climate change” in the decision to grant approval.
Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist Doug Parr said the £700m announced for Sizewell C would do nothing to cut energy bills this winter and would be better spent on clean renewables “instead of being thrown on to the slow-burning financial bonfire that is EDF”.
But the chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, Tom Greatrex, welcomed the funding commitment, saying it would help in “cutting gas, cutting bills and creating stable, secure well-paid jobs for people up and down the country”.
