Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Shanks and Marsha De Cordova

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab)]

11. What steps he is taking to help increase the supply of clean energy.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)]

We will continue to support new renewables through the contracts for difference scheme in conjunction with initiatives such as the warm homes plan, the future homes standard and the boiler upgrade scheme. Great British Energy and Great British Energy Nuclear will together invest more than £8.3 billion over this Parliament in home-grown clean power.

[Marsha De Cordova]

I welcome the Government’s mission to achieve clean power by 2030. I know that the Minister will agree that it is vital that we make the transition to net zero as quickly as possible, not only to fight climate change but to lower energy bills. Does he agree that whereas previous Governments have failed to deliver for the British people, our plans are the single best way to bring down energy bills for families, including in my Battersea constituency, and to provide them with much-needed energy security?

[Michael Shanks]

I completely agree. My hon. Friend makes the point that this is not just about action on the climate—as important as that is—and creating thousands of new jobs, but about bringing down bills and, crucially, delivering on that energy security point. The truth is that even though our clean power mission is about doing all four of those things at the same time, the Conservative party opposes all of that action, would leave us much more vulnerable to the volatility of the fossil fuel markets, and would turn its face against the economic opportunity of the 21st century.