JD Vance claims Britons pay too much for gas and electricity – after US started war that sent prices skyrocketing
JD Vance criticized the UK government and claimed that “middle-class Brits” were unable to go to work due to rising energy costs, while failing to acknowledge that the price rises were due to Donald Trump’s war in Iran.
In what he called a “scandal”, the US vice president claimed that Britons “can’t afford to heat their homes, can’t afford to transport themselves to work” because the government has “made energy so expensive”.
His comments came against a backdrop of rising global energy prices triggered by Tehran’s decision to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for US attacks.
The benchmark Brent crude oil price fell 14 per cent as news of a two-week conditional ceasefire was announced early on Wednesday, but Britons and households around the world are expected to be hit by rising energy and fuel prices as a result of the blockade of the strait.
Speaking at an election rally in Hungary on Wednesday to drum up support for Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the upcoming general election, Mr Vance instead accused the UK government of “making energy so expensive”.
“If you look at the cost of electricity in the UK, which is underinvested in energy resources, families in the UK are paying four, five, six times what US citizens pay for electricity,” he said.
“Isn’t it a scandal that middle-class Brits who work hard and play by the rules can’t afford to heat their homes, can’t afford to drive themselves to work because their leadership has made energy too expensive?”
He added: “It’s not magic that the United States has lower energy costs than the UK. It’s because we’ve made smart decisions and their leadership hasn’t. They can change course and we hope they will.”
Despite the ceasefire, Britain’s average diesel price surpassed 190p per liter on Wednesday, rising by more than a third since the start of the Iran war.
Industry leaders also warned that the war would cause inflation to rise in the coming weeks; The Food and Drink Federation suggests grocery inflation is likely to reach 9-10 per cent later this year, with overall inflation in the UK approaching 4 per cent in the second half of 2026.
Mr Vance’s comments came after US president Donald Trump repeatedly called on Sir Keir Starmer to expand domestic oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
Mr Trump earlier this year accused the government of making it “impossible” for oil companies to develop North Sea reserves.
He said: “The UK produced only a third of its total energy from all sources in 1999 – think about it, a third – and they sit on the North Sea, one of the largest reserves anywhere in the world, but they are not using it and that is one reason why their energy has reached catastrophically low levels at equally high prices.”
The question of whether to allow further drilling for domestic oil and gas in the North Sea has put pressure on Sir Keir Starmer in recent weeks, with members of his own cabinet appearing to be at loggerheads over the issue.
Last week the government denied Ed Miliband was expected to green-light the first major field project in the North Sea in nearly 10 years. But Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she would be “very happy” to support research at the Rosebank and Jackdaw sites.
Meanwhile, there have also been calls from the Conservatives and the Reformist United Kingdom to increase oil and gas production in the North Sea.
