Parliament has not been sitting this week. Given the gravity of developments, I thought it would be helpful to concentrate this week’s message on recent Government announcements.

In the many years I have been your Member of Parliament, I can think of no more daunting set of circumstances for a new Prime Minister to inherit, both at home with rising inflation and energy prices, and internationally as Putin’s war in Ukraine, and the destabilising effects on our economy, continue to hit home.

Against this stark backdrop, earlier this month I wrote an article in the Guardian setting out what I believed should be the new Government’s urgent priorities. Top of that list was to address as a matter of urgency the terrifying energy price hikes, which I know are of immense concern to so many of my constituents.

I was therefore pleased that the new Prime Minister acted almost immediately to provide families and businesses assurances on their energy bills. In particular, following several meetings in the Royal Town, I wanted to ensure that our schools are also similarly protected. The Government deserves full credit for this initiative which will limit the price suppliers can charge consumers for the next two years.

From 1 October, household bills will be limited to £2,500 per year on average. In real terms, this means that those living in an average semi-detached house will save £1,150 per year on their energy bills. This is on top of the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme for every home, and the £1,200 of support for the most vulnerable households already announced earlier this year.

Crucially, energy prices for businesses will also be capped, which will help protect jobs too.

I support the Government’s position that restoring growth in our economy is an absolute priority and I welcome the commitment to cut the basic rate of income tax from 20% to 19%, which will benefit 31 million people. I can also, in principle, support the decision to reverse the planned National Insurance rise as well as to cut corporation tax in spite of the fact that I voted for both of these changes originally. Taxation is at its highest level for 70 years - a level which is both uncomfortable and economically questionable.

However, while as a Conservative I believe in a low tax economy, I also believe in fiscal responsibility. The difficulty with the Government’s statement last week is that it left open the whole question of public expenditure. It is inevitably problematic to talk about tax cuts as a means of tackling inflation and promoting growth without also addressing the other half of the equation. Nor is it wise to bypass forecasts by the OBR (Office of Budget Responsibility) resulting from the announcements. We set up the OBR when I was in the cabinet precisely to give confidence on fiscal and economic matters. The Markets may have not liked what the OBR had to say in response to the Government’s Plan for Growth, but it is likely they would have reacted in a less dramatic way had they seen the forecast. Nothing fuels insecurity more than uncertainty. The Government should really have published relevant documents so that members of the House of Commons had something tangible on which to assess these plans. Unfortunately this has not yet happened.

It is important to stress that the underlying objective of the Government’s strategy is to stimulate the economic growth that will benefit us all. Commendably, the Government is seeking to redress imbalances in the UK economy which have caused productivity to languish and GDP to stagnate over many years. Economic growth is vital because it helps build prosperity from which comes increased funding in the NHS and defence, as well as for helping the least well off in our society.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that our debt, even with Friday’s increase in borrowing, is less than other G7 countries, while freshly released GDP figures show that the UK is not, as was predicted, currently in recession.

But none of this detracts from the fact that this is a deeply worrying time for lots of people - and I share this worry. As we move forward, I will be trying to help the government in a constructive way to get this new set of policies right in the best interests of our country and in particular the Royal Town.