Ed Miliband is living in his own world - but it's working people who will be clobbered
Claire Coutinho asks in what world does it make sense to shut down the North Sea?
In what world does it make sense to shut down our own gas production in the North Sea just to import more from Norway, who are drilling in the exact same fields we are shutting down?
Only in Ed Miliband's world, of course. Because Ed isn't motivated by what's best for our economy, or what will make us stronger and more resilient, but by whatever proves he is a worthy preacher for the Net Zero religion.
We are sitting on resources that other countries would kill to have on their doorsteps. Yet Ed has banned new oil and gas licences, refuses to sign off new projects, and has ground the sector to a halt with eye-watering taxes.
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He says there's no point drilling because gas is priced on the ‘international market’. This is a complete distraction. Shutting down the North Sea means losing £25 billion in tax revenue that could fund our armed forces, cut Fuel Duty, or pay down the national debt for our grandchildren. Instead, Ed will be cheering from his pulpit as the British energy industry is taxed out of existence and working people are clobbered with more tax rises.
Ed says new fields would take years to come online. Again, bogus. The application for the Jackdaw gas field has been sat on his desk for months. It could be up and running by the autumn, pumping enough gas into our pipes. All he has to do is sign it off. But he would rather import from halfway across the world instead.
Meanwhile, all of our industry is being hammered. The iconic, 200-year-old British pottery brand Denby has just collapsed, blaming soaring energy costs. Our refineries, chemicals and manufacturing sectors are in freefall because we have the highest electricity prices in the developed world and Labour is charging them ever-rising Carbon Taxes which our competitors simply don’t face. This has to stop.
The world is getting more dangerous and we need to get serious about our energy security. The Conservatives’ Energy Resilience Strategy will back the North Sea, double down on nuclear, make electricity cheap, and support British industry.
