Middle East: Economic Response

Lord Bellingham Excerpts

Monday 1st June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness will know, as she is far more expert in these matters than I am, in order to support farmers and the freight industry we have cut duty on red diesel. Red diesel costs almost doubled at their peak and are now around 50% higher than their pre-crisis levels, so the Government are going further, cutting the duty rate on red diesel by over one-third, reducing the rate to its lowest level for over 20 years. This takes effect from 15 June and remains in place until the end of 2026. The noble Baroness will also know that we have cut regular fuel duty by 5p, and diesel will be 11p per litre cheaper throughout 2026 than it would have been compared to plans inherited from the previous Government.

[Lord Bellingham (Con)]

The Minister said that the UK was “too exposed to energy imports”, and he mentioned that he was therefore keen to see the opening of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. Many of us are encouraged by what he said, but can he now commit to following Norway’s example and commit the Government to going ahead and opening further North Sea oil and gas fields so as to further improve our energy security?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Just to be clear, I said that oil and gas production in the North Sea is an important and valuable resource, and I support its continued use. I did not comment on Jackdaw and Rosebank specifically because I am not able to do so at this point, but the noble Lord will know that we are harnessing our domestic supply by managing existing fields for their entire lifetime, including by allowing tiebacks for those fields to ensure that they remain viable. I believe that when the Chancellor set out those measures in advance of legislation, we published further details on tiebacks, which external analysis has predicted could result in tens of millions more barrels of oil being available for UK supply. The announcement that we made gives industry greater clarity to support investment in these projects and maximise supply from our own existing sites in order to support our energy security, and the Government will legislate in due course to introduce these changes.