Business of the House

Alistair Strathern Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The North sea is a critical asset and the Government understand the vital role it will play in the future. It is Britain’s greatest asset in building our energy future. It gives Scotland and the rest of Britain the chance to lead in offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen, alongside oil and gas production. It is such an important matter that I will help to facilitate the meeting that the hon. Gentleman asks for.

[Alistair Strathern (Hitchin) (Lab)]

The events in the middle east have shown how exposed we remain to polluting and volatile oil and gas markets. Moving on to clean, domestically secure power is the long-term solution, but in the short term we should not allow gas producers to profiteer while they still far too often set the market price. Analysis by Greenpeace and Stonehaven suggests that we could save millions for households and businesses across the UK by moving gas-powered stations into a regulated asset base. May we have a statement from the Energy Secretary on how we can drive through such important market reforms, so that consumers and businesses across the UK can get much-needed money off their energy bills?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

Throughout this conflict, our first priority has been to help households with the cost of living. That underlines our need to focus on clean, homegrown energy. As the role of gas diminishes, we will continue to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills. We will learn the lessons from the current situation we find ourselves in. I encourage my hon. Friend to raise his specific concerns at Energy Security and Net Zero questions next week.