We are very clear: the updated 2050 Net Zero target is impossible without causing a serious drop in our living standards and deindustrialising our country at a time of increasing geo-political turmoil.
Britain currently has the second highest electricity prices in the world, stifling economic growth and deindustrialising Britain. We need to cut the costs that are driving high energy prices for everyone in society, not offer handouts for some.
We all want to protect the environment but not by imposing unfair costs via taxes, subsidies, green levies and ‘progressive’ billing on working people and businesses. By cutting high energy costs, we can help families and support our industries to thrive, creating a stronger economy for the country.
We will:
- End Labour’s ban on new oil and gas licences and maximise extraction from the North Sea to help protect 200,000 North Seas oil and gas jobs; generate billions in tax revenues; and power our domestic gas power.
- Strengthen our energy security by boosting domestic supply and reducing dependence on foreign energy imports and infrastructure.
- Back new clean and reliable nuclear power stations to bolster our energy security by reducing reliance on foreign fossil fuels, boosting grid security & providing reliable base-load power which doesn’t require a gas back up (unlike renewables).
- Support a mix of new small modular reactors (SMRs) as being the best energy source for nature; the land required for a nuclear power plant is up to 3,000 times less land than you would need to provide the same amount of energy from wind and solar, and it is zero-emissions to boot.
- Abandon Labour’s ruinous energy policies and reverse the deindustrialisation of Britain by backing domestic production and making energy cheap, cutting costs for industry by 20% and allowing businesses to thrive.
- Stop Ed Miliband’s current wind auction which experts say will lock us into sky-high energy bills for decades.
- Scrap the mandate forcing manufacturers to produce electric vehicles and end Labour’s 2030 ban on petrol and diesel cars. We will end the huge taxpayer subsidies currently used to prop up the mandate, saving £3.8bn.
To help cut down on the rising cost of electricity and cut the average household energy bill by £200, we will implement our Cheap Power Plan:
- Repeal the Climate Change Act and axe the expensive net zero levies which have added hundreds of pounds to household bills, including the Carbon Tax (UK ETS and Carbon Price Support), prioritising cheap, reliable and abundant energy.
- Save the average family money on their electricity bills and deliver major savings for businesses
- Take VAT off energy bills for the next three years
- Scrap Ed Miliband’s old Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) scheme which pays up to 3x more than the market price of electricity.
- Make electricity cheap so more people choose to buy electric cars and heating because it saves them money and makes life better, not to meet government mandated targets.
The Chancellor must axe the Fuel Duty hike, end Ed Miliband’s net zero madness and open up the North Sea. If Keir Starmer’s number one priority is the cost of living as he says, then there is a simple solution – scrapping the green taxes that have left British households paying some of the highest energy prices in the developed world.
Energy is prosperity and only the Conservatives have the plan and the leadership to get costs, bills and our national debt down, fix our economy and get Britain working again. We will make cutting bills and developing a secure and more resilient energy system our priority. We will create a stronger economy which means families will have more to spend on what matters to them.
