Oral Answers to Questions

Gordon McKee Excerpts

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

When I came to this brief, I too was shocked at the extent of the failures of the external wall insulation scheme under ECO4. We have set out the actions that we are taking to ensure that properties are remediated at no cost to the householder. Looking to the future system, the three principles that I believe we should follow are that work should be done right the first time; the system should be simple and easy to navigate from the consumer’s point of view; and when things go wrong—I do not want them to, but when they do—there needs to be swift remediation through the system to ensure that it delivers for consumers.

[Gordon McKee (Glasgow South) (Lab)]

9. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of clean power on energy sovereignty.

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

Clean power is the route to energy security and energy independence for the United Kingdom. For far too long, families have faced high energy bills thanks to our exposure to international fossil fuel markets over which we have no control. Through our clean power mission, we are ending that situation by rolling out clean, home-grown power that we control.

[Gordon McKee]

Since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, energy bills have gone up because we are reliant on international gas markets. That means that families in Glasgow are paying more for their heating because of factors totally outside their control. What are the Government doing to ensure that Britain has control of its own energy supply?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right to say that his constituents in Glasgow—and constituents right across the country—have faced sky-high energy bills because of our exposure to fossil fuels. Although very little Russian gas came into our system, we remained exposed to the volatility of the international markets.

The Opposition want us to go back to the fossil fuel casino and hope that this time we get a better hand, but we are determined to protect the public of this country in the long run from those price spikes and to ensure that we have energy security because of clean power grown here in the UK, delivered by jobs that we are investing in. That will help to remove the volatility that so many of our constituents have faced for too long—energy security, good jobs and tackling the climate crisis.