With the National Grid warning of energy shortages this winter, Liz Truss is still refusing

to act. Will Tory Libertarianism lead to blackouts?

That is our main question of the day, a pretty significant one. It is Liz Truss' ideological

dogmatism going to end up with three hours a day where we can't turn on our fridges.

Very worried. I think presumably I was not being able to turn our fridges somewhat

unlikely, but we will be talking about all the various risks that we face throughout

tonight's show. I'm delighted to be joined by Gary Stevenson. You'll recognise Gary from

many a Tisky before, but this is the first time I've had you for the whole show, so I am very

excited for that. I will be talking about the crisis in the Conservative Party more generally

towards the end of the show and we're also discussing Joe Biden and how different the politics

of cannabis is in the US to the UK. The National Grid is the company that keeps the electricity

flowing in England, Scotland and Wales. It's their job to make sure that supply meets

customer demand. But in a new report, they've warned that the UK could face rolling blackouts

this winter. That would mean households in different parts of the country experiencing

a series of free hour periods about electricity and with only a day's advance warning.

It's what they call, quote, the worst case scenario and it would unfold if two things happened.

Vladimir Putin cuts off gas supplies to Europe and Britain faces a cold snapper.

But even the best case scenario modelled by the National Grid in which supply continues to

meet demand will still be reliant on European electricity. The Times reports this. National

base case remains that Britain will have an adequate margin between supply and demand to keep

the lights on this winter comparable to previous winters. That's assuming that electricity imports

from Europe are available at times when we need them to meet demand. So Britain can import power

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