Energy Costs

Susan Murray Excerpts

Tuesday 9th June 2026 Westminster Hall

[Hannah Spencer]

I am going to continue.

Fourthly and finally, we must go further and faster on renewables. New fossil fuel extraction will not bring down bills or improve the UK’s energy security—a fact I know the Minister agrees with. Since the start of the war in Iran, wind and solar have saved the UK from gas imports worth £1.7 billion. Can the Minister provide assurance that the Government will not approve proposed drilling at Rosebank, Jackdaw or Cambo, or allow new oil and gas extraction through tiebacks to existing production facilities? How will the Department use the upcoming energy independence Bill to accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels?

I am pleased to have secured this debate on my 100th day as an MP. Last Sunday marked the 100th day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, which, as well as inflicting untold suffering and devastating in the region, has triggered the UK’s second major energy price crisis of the 2020s. I recognise all that the Government are doing to bring that international crisis to an end, and I hope the Minister will use this moment to also try to end the crisis of unaffordable energy costs for my constituents and millions of others across the country.

[Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Hannah Spencer]

I am just about to finish.

If we do not do something, this issue will keep happening. We need to act—not in the interests of fossil fuel giants, but in the interests of the very people who sent us to this place to make their lives more liveable.

--- Later in debate ---

[Martin McCluskey]

My hon. Friend will know that decisions about tax are for the Chancellor. We already have the windfall tax on energy profits in place—a tax opposed by the SNP and the Conservative Opposition.

I will turn to the points raised by the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton and my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds East (Richard Burgon) in a moment. As I was saying, it is not our war, but we are now feeling the effects, and that is why we are very clear that the strait of Hormuz must be reopened to traffic. As Members across the Chamber would expect, we are continuing to monitor the situation. We are exploring all options for future support, but we are taking action now to deal with high prices.

Let us be clear why we are doing that: we know that the pressure of high energy costs is very real for many families across the country, as the hon. Member for Gorton and Denton described. Households continue to feel the burden of bills, particularly where incomes are tight, and there is little room in their budgets for unexpected costs. We are determined to return bills to the downward path they were on before the outbreak of the war. It is important to note that energy prices in 2025 were lower than they were in 2024. We delivered a 7% reduction in energy prices in February. They were on a downward trajectory before the outbreak of war in Iran. We are doing this to tackle fuel poverty and protect people from the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets that has left too many families exposed to volatile energy prices for too long.

[Susan Murray]

It is good to hear the Government’s intention to reduce energy prices. The hon. Member for Gorton and Denton (Hannah Spencer) is right to call for more affordable energy. In France, electricity is about a third cheaper than it is here, with nuclear at the heart of the system. Does the Minister agree that ruling nuclear out or not progressing it quickly enough is wrong, and will he join me in calling for the assessment of Scotland’s nuclear potential to be published?