Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
14 contributions
Topical Questions
In the two years since July 2024, this Government have secured renewable power for the equivalent of 23 million homes, invested in the biggest nuclear building programme in half a century, started to deliver the biggest investment in warm homes in our country’s history, taken £150 off energy bills a…
I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s question, because the situation facing families who use heating oil has been significant since the Iran war started. That is why we made money available, including to the Scottish Government, to help families in particular hardship. We have also increased the help a…
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
4 contributions
Large-scale Solar Farms
Solar power is one of the cheapest sources of energy available to us. I am proud that we have consented nearly 6 GW of solar power since this Government came into office—around six times the amount that the previous Government consented. This year has seen record solar power, generating around 20 TW…
No, we are not going to pause our development of solar power—it is essential to get bills down for families and get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels. We take safety incredibly seriously; the Energy Minister has met the National Fire Chiefs Council and is working assiduously on these issues, …
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
7 July 2026
6 contributions
Climate Change: Weather Events
The heatwave last month saw the maximum all-time June temperature record in the UK set at 37.7°C, 2° higher than at any time since records began. Without human-induced climate change, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists has found that this 2026 European heatwave would have been virtual…
My hon. Friend articulates the position incredibly well. This is an emergency, as I said. We have seen in the last few weeks the way it affects our transport system, our education system and, indeed, health. The figures on deaths from heat-related episodes are really chilling. The UK Health Security…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Clean Power
The two renewables auctions under this Government have secured power for the equivalent of 23 million homes, and we are embarked on the biggest nuclear building programme for 50 years. The war in Iran shows that we need to go further and faster, so we will open our next renewables auction next month…
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The central fact that we cannot get away from is that we are price takers not price makers when it comes to oil and gas, and that is the fundamental contradiction at the heart of where the Opposition are. We are going to drive further and faster on clean power, in…
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
2 contributions
Energy Bills
The price cap increase announced last week as a result of the war in Iran was deeply concerning news for families in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Tackling the cost of living crisis is the Government’s top priority, which is why we have acted to take £150 of costs off bills in the coming years and …
My hon. Friend makes a very important point, and does so in her articulate way. The big choice that we in this House face is this: is the way out of a fossil fuel crisis to double down on fossil fuels, in a way that would make no difference to bills and prices, or is the answer to drive further and …
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
2 June 2026
7 contributions
Topical Questions
Today we have set out our proposal for the seventh carbon budget, as new research from CBI Economics shows that over a million workers are now supported by the UK’s net zero economy. This comes after 2025 set a new record for solar generation, and we have already set a new record in 2026 for offshor…
We take this issue incredibly seriously, and we are talking to the Competition and Markets Authority to make sure that the pricing is fair. We continue to monitor this, and to look at what further action may be necessary.
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
8 contributions
Topical Questions
Since conflict broke out in the middle east, we have acted to prevent price-gouging, help those who rely on heating oil, and ensure that businesses get a fair deal on their bills. The energy price cap will fall by £117 next week, with savings locked in until the end of June. We have also sped up wor…
The hon. Lady raises an important issue, and I am sure that many Members will empathise as our constituents face difficult times. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West (Martin McCluskey), tells me that the Compet…
+6 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
7 contributions
Middle East Conflict: Energy Security
The UK benefits from a strong and diverse energy supply, with only 1% of our crude oil and gas coming from the Gulf, but the essential lesson of this conflict is that while we are dependent on fossil fuel markets, we are exposed as a country, because prices for oil and gas, wherever it comes from, a…
The North sea will continue to play an important role in our energy mix for decades to come, which is why we said in our manifesto that we will keep existing oil and gas fields open for their lifetime, including, as we announced last autumn, the use of so-called tiebacks. My hon. Friend is absolutel…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
14 contributions
Household Energy Bills
Families will be deeply concerned about the impacts they are facing as a result of the Iran conflict. This Government are determined to fight the people’s corner. As a result of actions in the Budget, the energy bill price cap will fall from next week and is guaranteed till the end of June. We have …
My hon. Friend is absolutely right about that. It is an important reassurance for understandably worried families that, from 1 April, the energy price cap will fall by £117 thanks to this Government’s actions. That happened not automatically, but because the Chancellor made decisions in the Budget t…
+12 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
5 March 2026
34 contributions
Energy Markets
With permission, I will make a statement about the situation in energy markets in the light of the unfolding conflict in Iran and the middle east. My thoughts are with the British citizens and those across the world affected by the events of recent days, and I thank members of our armed forces servi…
I will answer the hon. Lady’s questions in a moment, but first I say to her that the biggest question for this House and for the country is: do we learn the lessons of these crises? Half the recessions that have happened since the 1970s have been caused by fossil-fuel price spikes. We all face a cho…
+32 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
10 February 2026
25 contributions
Local Power Plan
With permission, I will make a statement about the local power plan and allocation round 7 solar and onshore wind auction results, both of which have been published today.
Britain’s drive for clean energy is about helping to answer the call for a different kind of economy that works for the many, n…
Well, there were no questions, but I will reply none the less. Let me start with the AR7 auction, because this is very interesting and it will give the House a picture of what has actually changed. What has changed is the Conservative party, not the reality. We had the AR5 auction a couple of years …
+23 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
12 contributions
Topical Questions
This morning we have announced a record-breaking auction for solar and onshore wind, and we are launching our local power plan. That follows a month in which we secured the biggest offshore wind auction in Europe’s history and launched our warm homes plan. We are determined to deliver lower bills an…
My hon. Friend speaks with great eloquence on these issues. As she knows, that is the great thing about the Climate Change Act 2008, which was passed with the support of all parties. David Cameron—my nemesis—was a great supporter of that plan. The Act gives us the milestones that my hon. Friend talk…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Clean Industry Bonus: Jobs
The first-of-a-kind clean industry bonus as part of allocation round 7 is set to crowd in up to £3.4 billion of private investment in supply chains and support up to 7,000 jobs across the country. After a legacy of failure under the previous Government, we are determined that the clean energy future…
My hon. Friend makes an important point. One great thing about the clean industry bonus is that it will be focused on the industrial areas of our country, including those that are based on oil and gas. We also have, as part of our North sea future plan, a whole set of plans to help displaced oil and…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
5 contributions
Small Modular Nuclear Reactors: Jobs
There is huge potential from small modular reactors for both our energy security and jobs. I am proud that the decisions this Government have taken have enabled us to fund the UK’s first SMRs at Wylfa, supporting up to 3,000 jobs on site and thousands more across the supply chain. We want every part…
My hon. Friend speaks incredibly well on this issue. It is just common sense to have nuclear as part of our energy mix. We know why it is not going to happen in Scotland under the current regime. It is because SNP politicians, for dogmatic reasons, have set their face against it. They are even embar…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
7 contributions
Household Energy Bills
Bills are too high and the cost of living crisis is the biggest issue facing the country. That is why, at the last Budget, we took decisions to raise taxes on the wealthiest, which will enable us to take an average of £150 in costs off household energy bills from April. That builds on the fact that …
I am afraid that the right hon. Gentleman’s first point is wrong; he is taking one quarter—summer 2024 —and comparing it with today. If we look across 2025, bills are lower than in 2024. Actually, I had hoped that he would support the £150 that we have taken off energy bills, but the Opposition oppo…
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
21 January 2026
46 contributions
Warm Homes Plan
With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement about the warm homes plan, which we publish today. It is a plan focused on the No. 1 issue facing our country, which is the cost of living crisis, and on the scourge of fuel poverty, which affects millions of families across Britain.
At the Budge…
It is always a pleasure to be opposite the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Andrew Bowie). Let me make a few points to him, in the gentlest way I can. Let me deal first with his point about the cost of electricity. In her Budget, the Chancellor did more in one decision—namely, to t…
+44 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
14 January 2026
35 contributions
Offshore Wind
With permission, I would like to make a statement about the seventh contracts for difference allocation round and the results for offshore wind. Eighteen months ago, the Government set out on our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. That was a mission rooted in a simple argument: if we…
That was a lot, as they say. Let me deal with what the right hon. Lady said point by point. First, we will take no lectures from her on energy bills. She presided over the worst cost of living crisis in history, and not once have we heard a word of apology. This Government are taking £150 of costs o…
+33 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
17 contributions
Topical Questions
The affordability crisis is the No. 1 issue facing families across our country. That is why we have acted to take £150 of costs off bills for all families, with an additional £150 through the warm home discount for 6 million households this winter. Thanks to our decisions, last year was a record yea…
I wish the hon. Lady a happy new year, but I find that question a bit churlish. We have produced a world-leading plan for the North sea, which combines the just transition—the just and prosperous transition—with environmental leadership, while keeping to our manifesto commitment not to issue new lic…
+15 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Energy Jobs: Yorkshire and the Humber
Our clean energy mission offers a transformative opportunity to deliver thousands of high-quality jobs and drive prosperity across the country. In Yorkshire and the Humber, we estimate that there will be up to 20,000 additional jobs by 2030. There are opportunities in offshore wind, hydrogen and nuc…
I congratulate York College on its work. I know from my constituency in Doncaster, where we are to get a second university technical college specialising in green skills, the importance of that and the excitement of young people about this future. By turning their backs on clean energy, the Oppositi…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
3 contributions
National Grid: Supply Point Capacity
The Government inherited a legacy of huge under-investment in the grid, which piled up constraint costs and created a chaotic system for grid connection, which left crucial projects facing decade-long delays. We are tackling this with a programme of investment and reform, include sweeping changes to…
My hon. Friend makes a crucial point. There was this terrible backlog, where the queue had something like five times as much capacity as was required and the wrong priorities. We also had massive problems for demand connection. Our significant reform to overhaul the queue, which had not been done fo…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
4 contributions
Energy Bills Reduction
The decision by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor to take an average £150 of costs off people’s energy bills from April is a reflection of this Government’s commitment to tackling the cost of living crisis. It will make a difference to families across the country and is estimated to reduce by over…
I really enjoyed my visit to Kensa—I would recommend that all Members go—which is a really innovative company that is leading in heat pump manufacture. As my hon. Friend knows, we will shortly be publishing our warm homes plan, which will be really important in driving forward heat pump uptake and h…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
6 contributions
Gas-fired Power Stations
The 2023 generation costs report published under the previous Government shows the levelised cost of electricity to build and operate a new gas-fired power station to be significantly higher than the cost of onshore wind, solar and offshore wind in the most recent renewables auction round. Renewable…
My hon. Friend asks an important question. In our 2030 clean power plan, we talk precisely about the importance of low-carbon dispatchable power as a way forward. I am really proud of what is happening with our carbon capture and storage plans and Net Zero Teesside. Additionally, it will be an impor…
+4 more contributions in this session
Commons
Proceedings
1 December 2025
20 contributions
Budget Resolutions
It is a privilege to open this Budget debate on a theme of paramount importance to our country: the cost of living crisis facing Britain’s families. Whatever our party, we should take a step back and think about the history of the last two decades since the financial crisis, during which we have see…
Well, the hon. Gentleman’s question is out of date, because, in case he had not noticed, we changed the policy on winter fuel payments. Let me just say this to him: he will have to answer to his constituents. Some 1,500 children in his constituency will be helped by our changes to the two-child cap,…
+18 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
25 November 2025
34 contributions
COP30
With permission, I would like to make a statement about the COP30 climate summit.
The climate crisis represents the greatest long-term threat we face as a world, but the transition also represents the greatest economic opportunity of our time. At home, we are driving for clean energy and climate ac…
Oh dear, oh dear! I remember a time when the Conservative party was serious about the COP negotiations. The shadow Secretary of State had advance sight of the statement, but she did not ask any questions about it. I have to say that there is a fundamental issue here: do we engage internationally on …
+32 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
8 contributions
Topical Questions
Since the last oral questions in July, we have reached a final investment decision for Sizewell C, creating 10,000 jobs, and surpassed the historic milestone of approving enough clean power for 7.5 million homes after just 15 months of this Government. From next month, nearly 6 million families will…
My hon. Friend raises the important issue of tidal energy. I am very aware of the assessment that NESO is conducting—obviously, our Department is working with it on that assessment. The Minister for Energy chairs the marine energy taskforce, and is happy to meet my hon. Friend.
+6 more contributions in this session