Jim Armitage: Energy giants let grass grow under their feet on prices

Ed Miliband may not be much cop with a Flymo, but he’s certainly cut our energy suppliers down to size.

Since Ed first mooted the idea of capping energy prices four years ago, Centrica’s share price has been slashed by half. That’s £10 billion of value chucked on the compost heap. And, since Theresa May nicked the idea last month, a further 4% has been scythed.

To me, it seems unpalatable for a government to intervene so radically in the private sector it sought to encourage.

Centrica boss Iain Conn is right in saying caps limit competition.

But the fact the idea has been picked up by a Conservative leader four years after Flymo Ed, just shows how dismal the industry has been in keeping bills down and proving it is capable of regulating itself.

As with most gardening injuries, it has only itself to blame.