Saving Britain’s oil and gas industry is a personal mission of mine. In Aberdeen, across Scotland and the whole of the United Kingdom, I have seen for myself how important the offshore industry is.
I have heard top executives and junior staff alike tell me just how worried they are about the future of the 200,000 jobs which depend on the North Sea.
That’s why Russell Findlay and I have said North East Scotland is facing an oil and gas emergency. So I take every opportunity I can to make the case for Britain to change course and get on with drilling.
The Labour Government in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood don’t get this.
Their war on oil and gas was always economic self-harm, but with the chaos in the Middle East threatening global shipping, it’s far worse. It’s harming our energy security and even our national security.
There’s a staggering 2.9 billion barrels still in the ground – worth £165billion and perhaps more as prices climb.
We are currently importing gas drilled by Norway from the exact same basin, rather than taking it out ourselves. This makes no sense.
That’s why I have launched the Conservative’s campaign to get Britain drilling. My economic plan is simple – cut spending, cut tax and back business.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to get Britain drilling
That’s how we would get Britain working again. Increasing drilling in the North Sea would provide a multi-billion pound boost to the Exchequer.
On Wednesday, I asked Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions whether he would grant licenses for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields which are currently in limbo.
He normally doesn’t answer any questions, but this time in the middle of his waffle, he made something of a confession. He said that the decision rested with Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary.
There we had it. Keir Starmer as good as admitted that he has outsourced our energy security to a man who puts Net Zero ideology ahead of bills or our national interest. Gas from those fields alone could warm 1.6 million homes and come online this winter. Conservatives are going to be keeping up the pressure and today I’m launching our new Cheap Power Plan.
By scrapping green taxes and removing VAT from domestic energy bills, we could cut energy bills for everyone.
Our plan would save families around £200 a year – and we could pay for it thanks to the revenue we would get from drilling the North Sea. Businesses would also benefit from cheaper energy.
Labour refuse to do any of this. Instead, Rachel Reeves is plotting to give more money to those on welfare. Her energy bailout for Benefits Street would be paid for by people in work.
The last thing any of us needs is higher taxes, or more borrowing, to pay for more welfare. If Conservatives were in charge, we would get Britain drilling by granting as many licences as possible, ditching the Energy Profits Levy, supporting our offshore industry, and replacing the green targets of the North Sea Transition Authority with one simple goal: get as much of our oil and gas out the ground as possible.
Conservatives believe in energy abundance. Renewable energy can play a part if it’s cheap, but even RenewableUK is calling on the government to get on with drilling more.
We can all see that it doesn’t make our environment any better to import oil and gas from overseas, rather than using what we have here at home. Drilling our own gas would mean we were more insulated from supply shocks – whether that is from shipping in the Persian Gulf, a Norwegian pipeline that needs repairs, or LNG coming across the Atlantic.
Getting Britain Drilling is a no brainer. But don’t just take my word for it – listen to Tony Blair, the boss of Centrica, and even the head of Ed Miliband’s GB Energy.
It’s not too late for the Government to change course and I won’t stop pushing until they do.
Scottish voters should remember, when they cast their vote on 7 May, that there’s only one party committed to the North Sea and with a costed plan to bring down energy bills. That’s the Conservatives under me and Russell Findlay.
