Speeches by Esterson.

“As I have said, the amount we are talking about is very small, compared to the needs of the UK. [Interruption.] The hon. Member might not be so disappointed by what I say next. There is an argument—the Government have done some of this with tiebacks—for continuing to support production in the North sea, because the sup…”

“The Select Committee has taken evidence on much of what is in the Gracious Speech, and a big part of this debate has been about the threats that we face as a result of the second fossil fuel crisis in five years. I remember the first in 1973: as a six-year-old, candles on the table were fun, but it was not much fun for…”

“The Government were supportive of heating oil in the recently announced measures precisely for some of the reasons that the hon. Member sets out. We have to address this threat, and we have to transition for reasons of energy security, cost and bringing bills down. Anybody going to the pump now or looking at what their…”

“I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for what he has said; and I always find his contributions interesting. My Committee heard from the Country Land and Business Association on the subject of solar panels on agricultural land, and its evidence was clear: this does not have the impact that is feared, and is actuall…”

“The fuel duty freeze is of course very welcome for drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles, but this is the second time in just over four years that petrol and diesel prices have gone through the roof as a result of international oil and gas uncertainty. Is it not time that we gave as much support as possible to those wh…”

“The conflict in Iran is also a matter of energy security and the cost of energy. It is a reminder for the second time in four years of the dangers of being dependent on international fossil fuel markets and of the need to reduce our dependence. The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee has heard a lot of evidence abou…”

“There are people who are saying that the way to bring down bills is to reach agreement with the oil and gas companies to charge less for gas in the North sea. Is not the problem with that argument that there is absolutely no way that those privately owned companies will agree—or that their shareholders will allow them …”

“Your cost of living champion, Richard Walker, wrote in The Sunday Times yesterday that there should be a short-term intervention by the Government to prevent profiteering in the short term from surging oil and fuel prices. Are you going to follow his advice?”

“Yes, and for consumers to be able to take advantage of it, it is going to be really important—this is what my Committee hears again and again—that the price of electricity is brought down, so that people can afford to make that change. At the moment, electricity is more than four times the price of gas, which makes it …”

“Just coming back to the point about industrial energy costs, policy costs for industry are up to 60% of the bill, which is significantly higher than it is for consumers. The point made again by the chemicals sector—not just by the chemicals sector—is that the danger is we reduce our emissions and decarbonise, not by th…”

“Thank you for that explanation, Prime Minister. LNG production in the region has been severely damaged already, and reports are that it will take five years to restore the level of production. This will have a profound effect on supply and prices beyond the end of June, unfortunately. How are you factoring those calcul…”

“One of the reasons for asking the question is that it cost £40 billion to support energy bills in 2022. Preventing excess profiteering might be one way of supporting consumers. Are you considering targeted support this time, rather than the universal offer, given how expensive it was last time?”

“That, of course, is true. You said earlier, a couple of times, that you do not want to alarm people, but people can see the prices going up at the pumps now, and they can see it if they are on heating oil. People want answers now, Prime Minister.”

“Turning to energy infrastructure, you have plans and there have been decisions on nuclear. But if we go back, as a lesson, France’s response to some of the oil price shocks of the 1970s and beyond was to invest in nuclear. At the time, the UK did not follow that path. We now have Sizewell C and the SMR programme, and t…”

“Thank you. We touched on industry earlier in one of your answers. The Chemical Industries Association wrote to you on 3 March and pointed out that chemical production in the UK was down 40% between 2021 and 2024, and that this has a lot to do with the crisis of that time. Chemical production is crucial to all sectors o…”

“The hon. Lady is four minutes into her speech and she has talked about the reduction in emissions, which is largely the result of the dash for gas, which predated the last Conservative Government—actually, it happened under the previous Conservative Government. So far, she has talked about her opposition to what this G…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Luke Murphy) on securing the debate. As far as I am concerned, we should debate this all day, every day, because the message needs to be heard loud and clear out there. Those who want to delay climate action are denying our children and grandchildren a future. T…”

“It really is in the national interest to secure the future of the steel industry in this country. It is extraordinary to hear the opposition to the plan from the Opposition Benches, but perhaps not surprising, given that the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), was t…”

“Will the hon. Lady give way?”

“My hon. Friend is right. I hope that her constituents and the businesses in her constituency can take full advantage in spite of the damage that the appalling party she mentioned is trying to do not just to the climate to our economic prospects. Let us look at the cost of a failure to take action. Last July, the Office…”