The poll, released by campaign group 38 Degrees, also shows overwhelming support for Labour’s policy to freeze the price cap this year, keeping it at the current rate of £1,971. The Opinium poll found that 86% of the public and 85% of current Conservative voters support the price cap. Rising public support for the price freeze will put pressure on conservative candidates ahead of Tuesday night’s appeals. Liz Truss has suggested she favors help only for the most vulnerable households – as well as tax cuts in the autumn. Rishi Sunak said he would cut VAT on energy bills but has also pledged to set out a more comprehensive package after the price cap was announced on 26 August. The poll followed a Guardian publication by former Labor prime minister Gordon Brown, who said the price cap should be frozen and the government should start negotiations with energy companies to lower prices by next year. Brown said that if the companies were unable to offer lower prices, they would have to be temporarily put into public ownership – similar to how failed banks were renationalised during the 2009 banking crisis. Keir Starmer said he was wary of backing such a policy, arguing that all public money should be spent on alleviating economic hardship for people in need, rather than nationalisation. Both Starmer and Brown – as well as the Lib Dems – have called for an extensive windfall tax on energy companies to fund the cost of the cap freeze. The poll found that 71% of Conservative voters said a windfall tax on energy companies should be used to fund the additional support measures. Graphic Truss had previously ruled out a more widespread windfall tax, although Treasury officials have drawn up some options for extending the current tax that Sunak announced as chancellor in May. Brown said there should be further support in the package for those already in crisis due to current rising bills, who will continue to suffer this winter even with a price freeze. Of those polled, 50% say more support should be offered to those on lower incomes and 40% say everyone should get extra help. Among Conservative voters, 45% support more support for all. Graphic Ellie Gellard, strategy director at 38 Degrees, said: “It’s not often you see poll results send such a strong message – sent as loudly by Conservative voters as the rest of the country. As the leading contender for prime minister, Liz Truss makes headlines for her do-nothing plan as the nation she wants to lead faces disaster. It’s time for him to listen to the people he hopes to represent in three weeks.” The Treasury is finalizing a range of options for the next prime minister and chancellor with varying degrees of intervention – including extending the tax windfall rejected by Truss. It will also introduce the possibility of doubling rebates on energy bills, which Truss ally Simon Clarke also said was unlikely to be adopted. Truss is more willing to adopt plans for targeted support for the most vulnerable, likely to be paid through Universal Credit and Pension Credit, rather than support for each household. Richer households will benefit most from tax cuts Truss has pledged from “day one” including canceling the rise in national insurance. This approach is likely to attract some criticism that most middle-income workers would benefit only modestly from the tax cuts and would not be eligible for further targeted support.
