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As political tensions flare over energy policy, international diplomacy and past pandemic restrictions, opposition leaders ramp up pressure on the UK government. This week, Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour’s clean energy plans, warning they will cause job losses and delay oil projects. Meanwhile, Sir Ed Davey voiced concern for Donald Trump’s stance on Gaza, as the former US president sparks international controversy. At home, Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended himself against accusations that he broke Covid rules in 2020—drawing his own contrast with the Conservative Party’s infamous Partygate scandal.
Clean Energy
This week, Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, questioned the government’s energy policy, critiquing the “eco-nutters who want to obstruct the Rosebank oil and gas field.” Badenoch additionally made the claim that “When Labour negotiates, we all lose” arguing that the energy policy is not good enough.
The Conservative Party has expressed “we should be getting British oil and gas out of the ground,” rather than other net-zero policies. When in power, the Tories approved contracts to drill for oil and gas at offshore sites like Rosebank, an oil and gas field containing “300 million barrels of oil” just north-west off the British coast. Contracts that were approved by the last government were removed by judges over climate concerns last month.
The incoming Labour government wants to set out a “new era of clean electricity”. Former Labour Leader, the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, oversees the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. On the subject of the Labour government’s plan for clean electricity, Miliband said it is about “harnessing the power of Britain’s natural resources so we can protect working people from the ravages of global energy markets.”
The government’s action plan seems clear: “We expect delivering a clean power system with these characteristics will make Great Britain a net exporter of electricity and will reduce the carbon intensity of electricity generation from 171gCO2e/kWh in 2023 to well below 50gCO2e /kWh in 2030”. A clear goal of the Labour government is to put clean energy in the UK’s future. That said, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also made it clear that “Oil and gas will be part of our energy supply for many years to come.”
Kemi Badenoch has voiced concerns regarding the job losses as a consequence of Labour’s energy plan, specifically that the one-year delay to Rosebank will cost “the loss of 1,000 jobs”. However, an assessment on the impact of the new climate policy estimates that “between 135,000 and 725,000 net new jobs could be created by 2030 in low-carbon sectors. These estimates factor in potential job losses resulting from the transition from fossil fuels.”
Trump and the Gaza Plan
Last month Israel and Gaza signed a ceasefire ending 15 months of war. The ceasefire deal was aided through the cooperation of both the Biden and Trump administrations. The ceasefire is to take place in stages, gradually releasing hostages in regular intervals. In his statement on the ceasefire in mid-January, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that “this is the long-overdue news that the Israeli and Palestinian people have desperately been waiting for.”
Less than a month after the ceasefire was announced, Sir Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, expressed concern during this week’s PMQs, stating he was “alarmed to hear President Trump speak about forcibly displacing 1.8 million people from Gaza.” In a joint speech with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, President Trump asserted “We’re going to take over that peace and we’re going to develop it.”
Trump’s announcement has alarmed nations across the world. Starmer stated in parliament “they must be allowed home. They must be allowed to rebuild, and we should be with them in that rebuild on the way to a two-state solution.”
Trump has now sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) which issued warrants for both Netanyahu and a Hamas commander. The US President has accused the court of “illegitimate and baseless actions.” The ICC has condemned the sanctions.
The UK government has previously affirmed its relationship with the ICC, with a speech from UK Ambassador James Kariuki proclaiming how the country “will continue to demonstrate our support for the Court, and to work together with States Parties and the Court, to ensure that the Court delivers justice for victims, and accountability, in respect of the most serious crimes of international concern.” In light of recent events, it remains ambiguous whether policy will change in favour of Trump or remain aligned with the ICC.
Starmer Lockdown Breach
Badenoch and Gagan Mohindra, MP for South West Herefordshire, both questioned Starmer on whether Covid rules were followed during his voice coaching lessons on Christmas Eve 2020. Leonie Mellinger, actress and voice coach, was employed by Starmer during the final days of Brexit to help him “prepare and deliver a live statement at speed on one of the most important issues for our country in recent years.” Her involvement was revealed in Get In, a book published earlier this month detailing Labour’s self-reinvention and rise to power. The Prime Minister has repeatedly denied that any rules were broken, drawing a comparison between himself and the Tories’ 2020 Partygate scandal: “I was working—they were partying.”
Edited by Elizabeth Strassheim
Image: House of Commons Chamber during PMQs, by House of Commons via Flickr // CC BY 2.0
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