A new poll for The Economist by Ipsos suggests that people would welcome being bossed around. Three-fifths say they would support rules requiring households to reduce their energy use, provided that exceptions were made for vulnerable people, compared with one-fifth who say they would oppose the rules. Older people, who form the bedrock of the Conservative Party, are most supportive (see chart). Britons are even keener on measures that would compel businesses to cut back.

These are only hypothetical rules. People might respond less favourably to actual regulations: in the past, they have assured pollsters that they would vote for new political parties, only to shun such parties when they appear. But the poll at least suggests that the government would get a fair hearing. And the softer option, of trying to persuade people to save energy, would probably be an easier sell.

“There is much, much more that the government could be doing,” says Sam Hall of the Conservative Environment Network, a forum for green-minded Tories. Why is it so hesitant? Mr Hall points to a fear of being seen as patronising. And Liz Truss’s government has prioritised growth. Encouraging people to cut back might look like an admission that the government had failed to secure abundant energy to power an economic surge.

The experience of covid-19 suggests a stranger possibility. In March 2020 the government hesitated to enact stringent measures to slow the spread of coronavirus because it believed the public would not tolerate them. When it finally plumped for a lockdown, it was surprised to discover that people were keen on having their freedom restricted and believed it ought to have happened sooner.