Jackdaw Gasfield

Debate between Michael Shanks and Henry Tufnell

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right—the affordability crisis is the No. 1 thing facing all our constituents. I am not going to cut across what the Chancellor may or may not say next week in his Budget, but I hear what my hon. Friend says. We have already taken action by removing VAT from electricity bills, as well as the £150 of costs that we took off bills previously, but the first point he made is critical, because the situation in the middle east is what is driving up everyone’s bills. We can continue to take action to reduce those bills, as the previous Government did when Russia invaded Ukraine, but if we do not fix the fundamental problem, we will have to bail people out every time there is another fossil fuel price spike. While deploying clean power will not immediately affect everyone, every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we plug in helps reduce our dependence on gas and brings down people’s bills.

[Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)]

I congratulate the Minister on backing British industry in the North sea, but as he knows, industrial communities such as mine in Pembrokeshire face existential threats from high energy costs and high carbon costs. What measures are the Government taking to support good, unionised, well-paid jobs and industry right across the country?

[Michael Shanks]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s appreciation of the decision we have made today. The longer-term impact of climate change will be felt by his constituents as much as everyone else’s, so it is in all of our interests—as I know he appreciates—for us to take action to tackle it. While this is an important decision, the action we have taken to deploy clean power and break the link with fossil fuels is also really important.

My hon. Friend is right to centre this discussion on jobs. We have worked not just to create new jobs in the clean power of the future, but to make sure those are good jobs. With offshore wind, for example, we are making sure there is fair work for offshore workers, in conjunction with trade unions and the workforce. We want to grow the number of jobs in clean power, but we also want them to be good, well-paid and sustainable jobs.

Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

Debate between Michael Shanks and Henry Tufnell

Friday 26th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

I thank the hon. Lady for her intervention. She has perhaps been reading our manifesto, because I agree with everything she has just said. That is why we are announcing a warm homes agency and looking at energy efficiency across the public and residential sector, and why we will massively upscale that domestic investment. I will come back to her points in more detail later. It is almost as if she knew what I was going to talk about.

[Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)]

An announcement was made recently about collaboration with the Crown Estate, and how it will work with GB Energy. In Pembrokeshire we have a fantastic opportunity in the form of floating offshore wind. The Crown Estate is undertaking the leasing process for the seabed. Can the Minister assure us that there will be binding commitments to there being local content in the supply chain, and to addressing the skills gap in the region?

[Michael Shanks]

I thank my hon. Friend, who has already become a very strong advocate for his constituents. He cornered me in the Library to talk about these issues, and long may he continue to do so. He raises a really important point. The whole point of our partnership with the Crown Estate is that we will be able to look not just at investment in the clean power that we need, but at the supply chain creating good jobs in industrial communities. Our commitment to the British jobs bonus means that we will invest in those jobs in this country, creating the skills for the future.

Finally on GB Energy, as a Scottish MP it would be wrong of me not to say that I am incredibly proud that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Scotland. It is a signal of our commitment to delivering the good jobs that communities need, and to bringing the expertise and skills of Scotland’s growing renewables sector to the table as we drive forward towards even more ambitious plans across the whole country. In the driving seat of these ambitions is our new mission control centre, led by the former chief executive of the Climate Change Committee, Chris Stark. Mission control is about bringing together the best minds across Whitehall, but also, crucially, outside of Whitehall, so that we can set the direction, monitor progress and remove all the barriers in the way, whether they relate to the planning grid, supply chains or skills, so that the Government can work with one voice to deliver this plan.