UK Chancellor Zahawi blames high energy costs on Putin, says people must be reminded of it
UK chancellor Nadhim Zahawi held Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine responsible for escalating energy prices across the globe.
United Kingdom’s Chancellor for Exchequer, Nadhim Zahawi, has held Russian President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine responsible for escalating energy prices across the globe. He advised Conservative MPs that the public needed to be reminded that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was ultimately to blame for the rapid increase in gas prices around the world, The Times reported. Zahawi said that the UK’s next Prime Minister need to stress that President Putin is responsible if Labour’s attempts to pin the responsibility for rising energy costs on the Conservatives are to be defeated.
Further, the UK chancellor condemned Labour Party’s plans to freeze the energy price cap for six months, saying they weren’t specifically focused enough. He said that there were no simple solutions for assisting with living expenses in the country and that assistance should be directed towards those who needed it most. Speaking in southeast London, 55-year-old Zahawi stressed that Labour’s proposal to freeze fuel prices would not solve any purpose but benefit the wealthier strata of society in abundance.
Additionally, the UK chancellor also criticised “Treasury orthodoxy” and asserted that the department should support policy rather than constrain it. ‘We agree on things at cabinet and then HM Treasury spends too much energy, time and resource trying to shackle it and hold it back. Why’ Because we are not comfortable holding risk and we have to get comfortable holding risk. It needs to be part of our DNA,” Zahawi remarked, as per The Times. Meanwhile, he has also instructed Treasury staff to compile a list of initiatives to assist people with their energy costs before the anointment of the country’s next Prime Minister on September 5.
Govt’s support package ‘not enough’ to tackle cost of living crisis: PM Johnson
Earlier on August 12, UK’s outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that the government’s support package to address the crisis spurred by the rising cost of living is “not enough”. Speaking at an event in North Wales, the 58-year-old Conservative leader, however, stoked optimism that his successor would make sure that there are sufficient funds available to help people in need. PM Johnson further claimed that the government had previously disseminated various messages intended to assist citizens, but not everyone would have received them.
