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Conservatives ‘in denial’ over difficulties party is facing, says former minister – UK politics live
Latest updates: Tobias Ellwood, former defence minister, says polling shows party could lose seats and ‘brand is suffering’
Tory minister rules out new inquiry into claims of illicit gathering in Johnson’s flatKwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is considering extending the life of the Hinkley Point B plant but only if the nuclear power station complies with safety certification, a culture minister has suggested.
Appearing on Times Radio, Chris Philp was asked about reports that ministers had been warned of potential power cuts to as many as 6 million households this winter, with the government drawing up plans for rationed electricity if supply issues deteriorate.
I think what the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, did last week was take some sensible precautionary measures to guard against a potential worst-case scenario.
He asked, I think, the three remaining coal-fired power station operators to just keep their power stations available beyond the point of which they were due to be switched off, and I think he is considering whether Hinkley B, the large nuclear power station, might continue beyond its planned end of life as well.
We don’t have any problem with the way the chancellor dealt with consumer needs. But there is still a massive problem with small businesses. They are facing something like twice the rate of inflation for their production prices, and it’s a ticking timebomb. They have got literally weeks left before they run out of cash and that will mean hundreds of thousands of businesses, and lots of people losing their jobs.
It is a very real possibility because … they don’t have the cash reserves. They don’t have any way they can tackle this problem.
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