King’s Speech

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

My Lords, I also congratulate the quartet of Peers who have spoken their maiden speeches: my noble friend Lord Hobby, the noble Lord, Lord Blackwater, the noble Baroness, Lady Leaman, and finally the noble Lord, Lord Dixon, who had to live up to quite a billing before he managed to say a word but achieved it with distinction. While I am on the noble Lord, Lord Dixon, the noble Lord, Lord Carlile, suggested that we should speak to our grandparents about loot boxes, but I think he meant grandchildren. If Hansard corrects the record, I am sure he will appreciate that too.

I want to speak about energy security and energy independence, which the Government committed to in the gracious Speech. There should be no doubt, since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and the war in Iran leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, that there is an urgency to get policy right and to get on with delivering UK energy independence. Indeed, to oppose doing so would be an act of self-harm, leading to significantly higher prices for businesses and consumers, and to energy insecurity when it comes to keeping the lights on. Renewables and nuclear are clearly the front-runners for our future sources of supply, and both exist outside the international markets price regulation, which will enable the UK to be independent of the high price-fixing of international markets.

However, as a point of reassurance to those opposite who made this point, the change to renewables will not happen overnight or at the expense of gas and oil from the North Sea. The North Sea will continue, at least until the next century, to produce vital energy for the UK. Those who argue that this Labour Government are putting jobs at risk are scaremongering. I live in the north-east of England, where companies are pleading with us to go faster and further on renewables so that they can retain the skills of those employed in the construction of pylons, wind turbines and the control mechanisms they operate under.

By creating this certainty, the UK will retain these skills, and that is what the Government are committed to doing. The Government are introducing the energy independence Bill to ensure energy security, and the nuclear regulation Bill to pave the way for greater nuclear energy investment. Building on the Fingleton review of the nuclear sector, this will see an acceleration of the UK’s commitment to wind, wave, solar and a nuclear future, with improved light-touch regulation to overcome price gouging by unscrupulous companies.

From the starting point of 3% in the year 2000 to just under half of all our energy now, renewable sources are on the up. It is predicated that, together with nuclear, renewables will dominate the market for the foreseeable future. On 1 April 2026, we saw the first 24-hour period in which renewables met all our energy demands. Third-party intermediates, which operate in the business sector, are currently controlled only by voluntary measures and general consumer protection laws. Therefore, I welcome the Government’s proposal for them to be properly regulated by Ofgem, and Labour’s proposal to make sure that the country’s energy is independent and secure.

Can the Minister say whether the following statements are true? First, the Government will protect customers from international market volatility. Secondly, they will boost employment in the future industries for green power. Thirdly, they will remove delays in planning, especially grid access, and cut costs. Fourthly, they will increase UK resilience to energy threats. Finally, through GB Energy, they will quicken the transition and ensure that considerable benefits are felt by everyone.

Onshore Wind Farms

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I had thought that I was talking this afternoon about the repowering of wind turbines—that is, turbines that have completed their life in terms of their original blades and mountings, and which are out of the renewable obligation certificate period. The question for those sites is whether they repower, go merchant or close down. That is what the Question was about, but obviously, the issue of cable repowering is more about ensuring that the cables we have across the country can carry the new loads that we hope will be within their capability for the future. That is really a question of making sure that it is done in the most environmentally friendly way possible, but at the same time moving at considerable speed by changing the planning regulations as fast as possible.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

The planning presumption during the Tories’ 14 years in power was that if a single objector objected to an onshore power plant, it was rejected automatically. Can the noble Lord say whether the planning presumption will change in favour of onshore power plants rather than against them?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

Well indeed. The first thing, literally, that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero did upon the Labour Government taking office was to remove the ban on onshore wind and make sure that it could in future play a full part in the development of UK wind, as we have begun to see in the allocation rounds. It is a crying shame that onshore was effectively banned for such a long time and is only now recovering.

Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill

Lord Lennie Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 2nd December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

My Lords, I speak as a Member replacing the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, on the Environment and Climate Change Committee and as a resident of the North Shields Fish Quay on the mouth of the Tyne—you will find it if you go to Newcastle and turn right—which is currently celebrating 800 years since its foundation. It is well worth a visit for anyone who has a day or two to spare.

I have never considered the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, to have been an eco-warrior—but fair play to him. He was one of the early signatories, of the 145 representing different nations, to the agreement that gives rise to this piece of legislation. So credit where credit is due: without that signatory, we would not be where we are today. I also give credit to the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, for her role in that.

I welcome the return to Parliament of Labour’s own green-energy warrior, Alan Whitehead—my noble friend the Minister—who spoke with great authority, experience and expertise when making his impassioned maiden speech, for which he is to be truly congratulated.

Among others celebrating the regulation of the deep blue seas, which we are about to pass, will be the sharks, whales, turtles and other marine life that can be assured that nations recognise the need to exercise control over their own activities and craft sailing in the high seas. This is excellent news and the Government are to be congratulated on committing to this legislation. It is unfortunate, as the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, pointed out, that some countries have not yet signed, but the door remains open for that to happen.

Our failure to pass this legislation—and I notice that the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, has some objections to it—would have a seriously detrimental effect on the UK’s ability to influence a wider community and would present a risk of reputational damage to our position as one of the leaders in achieving global biodiversity targets.

The Bill will achieve a number of important things. MPAs will be established on the high seas, meaning that they should benefit from protections, just as national waters do, and there will be fair and shared access to the benefits of research and discovery, which will benefit the health and well-being of all signatory nations, meaning that smaller nations and less economically powerful nations will not be disadvantaged as breakthroughs are made in medicine and agricultural fields. It will strengthen our environmental impact assessments in determining whether potential gains outweigh the risks of marine exploration. It will increase and improve capacity in building, and technology transfer is making for a sustainable and inclusive ocean economy and overcoming the unlicensed approach.

I have just one question for the Minister. How big a deal is the absence of nations such as the United States from the early signatories of this agreement?

UK Energy: Grid Decarbonisation

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I do not think there is any confusion at all. The policy is quite clear. We value our agricultural land, and the total amount of it that could be used by solar in future, over a considerable number of years, is less than 1%. The noble Lord may have noticed that, on 21 March, only two or three days ago, Great British Energy announced that its first major product will be the solar accelerator, which will enable hundreds of schools and hospitals across England to install new rooftop solar power. We are not just talking about the use of agricultural land. We want to see an expansion of solar, but it can be in relation to schools and hospitals and buildings as well.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

My Lords, when will the Government make a decision about the awarding of a contract for advanced small modular reactors in this country?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, a process for small modular reactors is being undertaken by Great British Nuclear at the moment. It has undertaken a technology appraisal, tenders have now come in, and I expect that the outcome of the process will be known by the end of spring. That is tied into SR discussions.

Gas Storage Levels

Lord Lennie Excerpts

Tuesday 14th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I was present during the debate on Thursday on the Select Committee’s excellent report on this very subject. I refer my friend the noble Baroness to the action plan that my department issued only a few weeks ago, estimating that between 40 gigawatts and 50 gigawatts of dispatchable and long-duration flexible capacity could be needed by 2030. We are going to take a number of interventions to ensure that this happens. We have already announced a ground-breaking deal with Net Zero Teesside, our first power CCUS project. We are developing a hydrogen-to-power business model to derisk investment in that area. Ofgem will be introducing the cap and floor scheme to support investment in long-term duration electricity storage. We aim to open the scheme to applications in quarter 2 of 2025. We fully take on board the point that the noble Baroness makes and the Select Committee report.

[Lord Lennie (Lab)]

My Lords, what was the level of storage at the Rough facility when Labour last left office in 2010 and what happened to that storage facility after the Tories took power?

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, Rough was closed in 2017. At that time, when the party opposite was in government, I do not think that it raised any concerns at all. Indeed, the then Energy Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Harrington, said that the closure of Rough would not cause a problem with security. In 2022, Centrica decided to re-open the site. This was a commercial decision by the company. It now seeks government support. One needs to draw a line between the announcement that it made last week and its request for government support.