UK Energy Costs

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Richard Graham

Thursday 8th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)]

rose—

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

rose—

Marine Renewables: Government Support for Commercial Roll-out

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Richard Graham

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Westminster Hall

[Mr Carmichael]

I absolutely agree, and I would add to that list of tides and sunsets the attendance of the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) at Adjournment debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall. I think the chairman of the APPG wished to intervene.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for securing this debate and allowing me to intervene as chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on marine energy and tidal lagoons. As he and the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) have highlighted, this is a resource of enormous potential across the UK.

We have representatives here from Wales. It is true to say that Bardsey will become the first island in the world to be entirely powered by tidal stream. The other projects in Morlais, Pembrokeshire and Perpetuus Tidal Energy Centre on the Isle of Wight, which is one of five centres funded through the Government’s TIGER project, give an idea, as the Minister is aware, of the potential. Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, with COP26 in Glasgow next year, if the contracts for difference auction were to be just beforehand and marine energy to be given a fraction of the capacity there, that would be a fabulous project to highlight at COP26?

[Mr Carmichael]

I absolutely agree because, as I am about to illustrate, we have a nascent industry. It is growing but it is in a position to undertake that important role for the UK on the world stage. According to the UK Marine Energy Council, there are currently 22 tidal stream and 23 wave developers active in the UK, with an estimated investment to date exceeding £500 million of private capital in developing marine energy technologies, and £70 million in direct public support.

Estimates of support suggest that the tidal stream could deliver £1.4 billion gross value added by 2030, while the figure for wave is £4 billion by 2040. Those figures, plus the thousands of jobs that would come with them, are a tremendous prize. There are currently tidal stream sites with an aggregated output of 1 GW under development in the UK, awaiting a positive signal from the Government. The industry is ready to move, the technology is there, the private investment is primed but it does need a helping hand from Government at this critical stage.

EU-UK Partnership: EU’s Mandate

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Richard Graham

Thursday 4th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), although of course in any discussion of issues around the EU he does suffer from the disadvantage of his party having campaigned on the most extraordinary anti-democratic position that I have ever seen any party take in this Chamber. Therefore, speaking up for the fishermen of Scotland is, I think, very difficult for him and his party to do with real credibility.

[Mr Carmichael]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Richard Graham]

No, I am sorry. The right hon. Gentleman spoke for quite a long time earlier.

The issue today is really all about whether we will be able to achieve the deal with the European Union that so many of us around the Chamber, including the right hon. Gentleman and his distinguished colleagues, want to see. My hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) said earlier that Michel Barnier is trying to seduce remainers in this Chamber. Of course, there are no remainers left. We have already left the European Union and what matters now is the future relationship.

In that context, it is important that my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General helps in her summary this evening to address the point raised by the Leader of the House earlier when he referred, in answers at business questions, to the importance of ensuring that we leave this transition phase “successfully” by 31 December. I am in no doubt at all that we should leave at the end of this year. That is absolutely crucial. That is what we campaigned on. That is what this party campaigned on. That is how the election was won. But the definition of “successfully” is incredibly important.

The example of Nissan’s Sunderland factory is very relevant. The announcement of the closure of its Barcelona factory leaves Sunderland as Nissan’s sole manufacturer for Europe. That is a significant tribute to the productivity record of its factory and workers, but before we celebrate, we have to heed its global chief operating officer, who said that

“we are the number one carmaker in the UK and we want to continue”

but that if Nissan is not getting the current tariffs—zero tariffs, rather than the 10% tariffs which would be imposed on vehicles and parts under WTO rules—the business will not be sustainable. He said:

“That’s what everyone has to understand.”

It would be helpful if my right hon. Friend would confirm that the Government are clear about the consequences of no deal at the end of this year, not just for Sunderland, but in the west midlands, and for automotive sector supply chains across the country. Of course this issue is not confined just to that sector. My right hon. Friend knows well the risks to farming, and the potential hazards for farmers who are selling sheep and beef, and particularly barley, across the channel. Explaining to our farmers at the beginning of 2021 that those exports will have significant tariffs attached would not be a welcome start to the year for them.

I have always believed in the commitment of the Prime Minister and the Government to get a deal that would be good for our nation and benefit the EU. Indeed, I defended the Prime Minister last summer when many doubted the strength of that commitment, and I hope nothing has changed to damage it. I hope that the contribution the deal can make to our economic revival, and to “bounce back Britain”, will be strong, because in my view anything that does not do that cannot possibly be seen as a successful outcome. The business of the EU understanding that we cannot possibly accept the jurisdiction of the European Courts as the dispute resolution—my hon. Friend the Member for Stone made that point—was highlighted by the Select Committee, and I hope that success means getting that deal as soon as possible.