Labour risk the lights going out

Commenting on Ed Miliband's proposal for a 20-month freeze in energy bills, Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey said:

"Everyone wants to help with the cost of rising bills, which is why Liberal Democrats have cut income tax by £700 for working people. But Labour's plan is a promise that won't work.

"When they tried to fix prices in California it resulted in an electricity crisis, company bankruptcies and widespread blackouts. We can't risk the lights going out here too.

"Fixing prices in this way risks blackouts, jeopardises jobs and puts investment in clean, green technology in doubt."

Local Councillor Nick Hollinghurst said "The state can and does many things well - social programmes, guarantors for failing banks, defence of the realm and so on. But fixing prices in volatile markets is not one of them!

"It smacks of unreformed socialism and shows that the Labour party's basic instinct is to legislate, regulate and control rather than directly tackle the underlying problem of capacity"