Monday, March 30, 2026
Are the Tories seeking to undermine the UK's energy security?
The paper says that the Tory leader was ridiculed ahead of launching a “Get Britain Drilling” campaign calling for the UK to maximise the use of its oil and gas reserves:
It follows a spike in energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East, something Ms Badenoch had supported joining only to U-turn a week later. Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has led to a drastic rise in oil prices across the globe.
On Sunday Ms Badenoch will launch a three-point plan to “get Britain drilling” which includes an end to the moratorium on new oil and gas licences, ditching the windfall tax on energy profits, and more financial support for the fossil fuels industry. However, the plans were roundly mocked, with Michael Shanks MP, Labour ’s Energy Minister, branding the North West Essex “unfit for high office”.
He said: “Kemi Badenoch wanted to plunge Britain head first into war without a seconds thought about the consequences. She has proven herself completely unfit for high office throughout this crisis. Badenoch's Conservative Party left families with rocketing energy bills - and they completely failed to deliver energy security across 14 years in power. Her own shadow energy secretary admitted that new licenses in the North Sea would not take a penny off bills.
"The Conservatives and Reform want to outsource Britain's energy security to fossil fuel markets over which we have no control. Meanwhile Labour is bringing down bills next week and investing in clean, homegrown power to bring bills down for good."
There was also criticism from Tessa Khan, executive director of campaign group Uplift, who warned the Conservatives’ plan would do nothing to lower bills. Pointing to research suggesting hundreds of North Sea licences granted under the previous government had produced just 36 days’ worth of gas, Ms Khan said Mrs Badenoch was “peddling a dangerous fantasy”.
She said: “Politicians who refuse to acknowledge the reality of the declining North Sea are endangering our security and economy. Not only that, they are betraying workers who need long-term, secure jobs – which will only now come from renewables, not some pipedream. This is vapid, political game playing at the expense of ordinary people.”
If the Iran war has shown us anything, it is that we cannot be dependent on other countries for our energy supply, nor can we hitch ourselves to a declining source of fossil fuel in contravention of our climate change obligations.
The Tories are living in the past and if they get their way then it will undermine our energy security.
