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Kemi Badenoch will visit an oil rig on Monday as she launches a campaign to “drill in Britain”. The Conservative Party leader has described Labor’s refusal to grant new oil and gas drilling licenses as “stupid” and “completely insane” as global markets are reeling from the conflict in Iran.
The future of Britain’s remaining oil and gas reserves in the North Sea is now one of the key dividing lines in UK politics, with the Conservative leader determined that the country should “maximise” domestic production. Ms Badenoch said: “The real reason Labor is rejecting new licenses is [Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary] Ed Miliband is currently running the government.”
In a new advertising campaign, the Conservatives will claim Labour’s “ban on new oil and gas licences” has “left 2.9 billion barrels in the ground and put 200,000 jobs at risk”. The party is also demanding an end to the so-called windfall tax on energy profits, which it accuses of holding back investment. According to their plans, a new North Sea Authority would replace the North Sea Transit Authority and “focus on maximizing oil and gas extraction”.
Pressing for a change in direction, the Conservative Party says: “Straightening down a path of higher energy bills, job losses and lower economic growth will make us a warning to the rest of the world, not an example. We must put cheap, reliable energy and a stronger economy first.”
The party argues that the UK “could import 82 per cent of its gas by 2035, leaving ratepayers vulnerable to changes in oil prices”. There are also concerns that if transatlantic liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies are restricted, it could deal a new blow to the UK’s energy security.
Ms Badenoch said: “Labour was stupid when they put the ban on new oil and gas drilling licenses in their manifesto; in the middle of an energy crisis it’s absolutely crazy. Drilling our own oil and gas is about energy security, it’s about financial security, it’s about national security. It’s more jobs, it’s good for business and it generates tax revenues that can be used to reduce bills.”
He added: “We must get Britain drilling. A strong economy depends on cheap, abundant energy.”
There are concerns across the political spectrum about Britain’s dependence on energy imports.
When approached earlier in the week, a spokesman for the GMB union said: “It is absolutely critical to the UK’s national security that we have a strong production base and secure domestic supplies of oil and gas. Relying on imports from other countries for the essentials that power our economy and keep the country afloat leaves us worryingly vulnerable.”
