Without manifesto ideas for ‘resetting’ the market, the government’s proposals are just shameless headline-grabbing

The Conservative party’s proposed price cap on energy bills is “very different” from the price freeze advocated by Ed Miliband at the last general election, according to Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary and former energy minister. Really? In their initial impact, the two policies look almost identical.

Fallon’s thin argument is that a cap is more flexible because it would allow tariffs to be cut when the wholesale price of energy fell. That is a gross misrepresentation of the final version of Miliband’s proposal, which was tweaked to take account of falling wholesale prices. As the former Labour leader pointed out, his party’s manifesto at the 2015 general election was clear: “Labour will freeze energy bills until 2017, ensuring that bills can fall but not rise.”

Related: Energy bills: what’s the difference between Tory cap and Miliband freeze?

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