UK won’t turn off North Sea tap
One in four will work beyond retirement age to bring in more cash or boost wellbeing
BRITAIN will be using North Sea oil and gas for “decades to come” as the Government puts energy security and the cost of living at the top of its agenda.
The announcement comes ahead of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement on Wednesday which is expected to focus on household bills, with an energy policy also expected to be unveiled later in the week.
At the Tory spring conference yesterday, Boris Johnson said his Government needs to do “everything we can to help people” through the mounting financial pressures as energy prices continue to spike.
The Prime Minister promised “colossal” investment in green energy and said that Britain needed to protect itself from international energy price rises, which he said were being intentionally fuelled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
He said: “If we are going to deal with the particular cost families face on rising fuel costs, we must take the bold steps necessary to end our dependence on Putin’s oil and gas.
“That is what we are doing. In the immortal phrase, it is time to take back control of our energy supplies.
“After years of short-termism and hand-to-mouth solutions we are setting out a British energy security strategy and we will make better use of our own naturally occurring hydrocarbons, rather than import them top dollar and put the money into Putin’s bank account.
“That does not mean in any way we are going to abandon our drive for a low-carbon future; we are going to make some big bets on nuclear power, not just the big projects but small modular reactors.”
He added: “We have got to do everything we can to help people with their daily costs, help people with the cost of living.”
And writing in today’s Sunday Express, Kwasi Kwarteng said North Sea energy would be a vital resource “for decades”.
While insisting that moving to renewable forms of energy is both cheaper in the long term and means Putin’s Russia will be starved of funding its illegal activities with oil and gas, the Business Secretary also made clear it would not mean a speedy abandonment of fossil fuels.
“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,” said Mr Kwarteng.
“It would be complete madness to turn off our domestic source of gas in such an uncertain world.”
The words also provide a hint 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 the Ukraine conflict had underlined the need to move on to renewables.
He said: “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. 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, homegrown 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.”
And former Brexit minister Lord Frost, who resigned over Net Zero policies, said: “I am encouraged by the Prime Minister’s comments about the upcoming energy security strategy. He seems to recognise that the international situation requires us to re-examine all our existing plans fundamentally. If the new strategy indeed puts more emphasis on domestic hydrocarbons, including but not only shale gas, that will be very good news.”
The Chancellor is under intense Tory pressure to announce major changes this week to help households struggling financially.
He is facing calls to scrap next month’s increase in National Insurance contributions, cut fuel duty, make it cheaper to insulate homes with a VAT cut, and to abandon the income tax thresholds freeze.
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.
Last week the Conservative MP organised more than 50 MPS to write to Mr Sunak to urge him to cut fuel duty. Sir John Redwood, who served as Margaret Thatcher’s chief policy adviser, insisted the Chancellor had the cash 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 extra tax he will now be collecting on oil, gas and fuel.”
Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said: “The Government should not be raising National Insurance as families are struggling to cope with the cost of surging energy bills and inflation.”