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It comes ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement on Wednesday which is expected to focus on cost of living issues with a new energy policy also expected to be unveiled later in the week. Writing for the Sunday Express today, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng offered a fig leaf to Tory MPs who have been critical of the Government’s commitment to Net Zero and its impact on the cost of living.

While insisting that moving to renewable forms of energy is both cheaper in the long term and means that Putin’s Russia will be starved of funding its illegal activities with oil and gas, Mr Kwarteng also made clear that it would not mean a speedy abandonment of fossil fuels.

He said: “We must not turn our back on North Sea oil and gas while we transition to cheap, clean power. This sector has been a major British industrial success story for decades, and we want it to continue for decades to come.

“It would be complete madness to turn off our domestic source of gas in such an uncertain world.”

The words also provide a hint that the Government is prepared to have a rethink on shale gas and fracking with exploration company Cuadrilla last week offered a 12 month reprieve from blocking up its two wells with concrete to allow for the issue to be reconsidered.

Conservative MPs had been critical of the Net Zero policy for pushing the country away from cheaper gas and forcing people to buy expensive non-carbon heating systems for their homes.

But Mr Kwarteng insisted that the Ukraine conflict had underlined the need to move on to renewables.

He said: “While our support for the people of Ukraine is unwavering, it is clearer than ever that we need to ensure Britain’s clean energy independence so we can weaken Putin’s grip on the West further by starving him of the cash his country’s natural resources provide. Put simply, switching to our own clean, cheap energy is a win-win for everyone – except Putin.

“This is no longer just about tackling climate change or hitting Net Zero targets. Moving to cheap, clean, home-grown energy is a matter of British national security to ensure we are no longer held hostage by prices set by global markets we can’t control.”

The Chancellor is under intense Conservative pressure to announce major changes this week in his Spring Statement to help households struggling with the cost of living crisis.

He is facing calls to scrap next month’s planned increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs), cut fuel duty to lower the price at the pump, make it cheaper for people to insulate their homes with a VAT cut, and to abandon the freeze in income tax thresholds.

Robert Halfon, the chairman of the education select committee, warned that people are “absolutely terrified” about how they will cope with rising petrol and diesel prices.

Sir John Redwood, who served as Margaret Thatcher’s chief policy adviser, insisted the Chancellor had the cash he needed to take bold measures.

He said: “The Chancellor must ease the squeeze on incomes by removing the NI increase and removing VAT on domestic fuel. He should also take VAT off green products like insulation and boiler controls to encourage greater fuel economy at home.

“He has the money from the big increase in revenues this year compared to Treasury forecasts and from the extra tax he will now be collecting on oil, gas and fuel.”

Last week Conservative MP Mr Halfon organised more than 50 MPs to write to Mr Sunak to urge him to cut fuel duty.

He told the Sunday Express: “The public are being hit by a triple whammy of energy bills, petrol and diesel costs all going up and people are terrified – absolutely terrified – about how they are going to be able to afford it.”

Welsh Conservatives have also called for fuel duty to be cut, arguing that bigger VAT revenues as a result of higher prices will make up for the shortfall.

Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies – which was founded in 1974 by Lady Thatcher and Sir Keith Joseph – said that even if the Chancellor will not ditch the hike in NICs he should take action to lessen the blow.

He said: “The Government should not be raising National Insurance at the same time as families are struggling to cope with the cost of surging energy bills and inflation. However, given it looks very unlikely that they will cancel or defer their plans, they must try their best to shield those on low and average incomes by increasing the NI payment threshold.

“This will stop them from adding insult to injury for the lowest earners across the UK.”

Julian Jessop of the influential Institute of Economic Affairs, agreed, saying: “Higher incomes and prices mean that people and businesses are already paying more in tax than expected. This provides the wiggle room to delay the planned increases in National Insurance contributions and to top up benefits for those most vulnerable to the cost of living crisis.

“If the Chancellor is determined to press ahead with the NI increase, he could at least soften the blow by raising the income thresholds at which people start to pay tax.”

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) encouraged the Chancellor to reconsider the four-year freeze to income tax thresholds, stating: “[It] was announced at a time when inflation stood at 0.7 percent. In January it was up to 5.5 percent and CEBR expects a further rise to 8.2 percent by April. As inflation feeds into wages, this means that what was meant to be a £8.2billion tax hike is now set to raise £20billion, assuming wage growth of around four percent.”

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