Truss grilled in parliament on plans to offset energy crisis

Britain’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss sparred with opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer at the House of Commons at her first session of Prime Minister’s Questions 
on Wednesday. 

The often rowdy weekly session, which saw the prime minister quizzed by MPs, tested Truss’s political mettle and rhetorical skills as well as her level of Conservative support.

Speaking at her first session of Prime Minister’s Questions, Truss said Britons want a government that would help fix their problems, notably a sharp rise in the cost of living and energy in particular. She said she would announce her plan to help people pay spiralling energy bills on Thursday.

“What the British people want is they want a government that is going to sort it out – and that is what I am determined to do as prime minister: sort out the energy crisis, get our economy going, make sure people can get doctor’s appointments. That’s what I’m focused on,” 
she said.

Truss said she wanted to see more extraction of oil and gas from the North Sea and more investment in nuclear power.

“I want to see us use more of our energy supply, including more oil and gas from the North Sea and nuclear power,” she said. 

But she said she rejected windfall taxes on the large profits now being made by some energy companies.
“I am against a windfall tax. I believe it is the wrong thing to be putting companies off investing in the United Kingdom,” Truss said.

Regarding Brexit, Truss said that she would get on and “fix” the agreement with the European Union covering post-Brexit trade between Britain and Northern Ireland, saying that was putting strain on efforts to restore its assembly. 
AFP.com, 7 Sept, 2022