4/4/2024 0 Comments Example household budget![]() ![]() Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho is expected to warn in a speech that the UK risks "blackouts" without new gas power stations.Welcome back to the Politics Hub on this Tuesday 12 March. "There are no easy solutions in energy, only trade-offs," she will say. In a speech today at Chatham House, the Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho is expected to say the UK risks "blackouts" without new gas power stations. That's also because some gas plants are due to retire in the coming years. Today the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said it was clear the UK would need new backup gas capacity to provide power that can be fired up on demand, on days when it isn't windy or sunny enough to get electricity from renewables. Officials have been reviewing how to make sure supply keeps up with demand, is reliable, and reaches the right areas of the country. It also forged ahead with proposals for regional electricity pricing, with the potential for households and businesses to be charged different amounts in different parts of the country - though other options remain on the table.Įlectricity demand is increasing as the UK electrifies things like heating and cars, and the population grows. The UK needs to build more gas power capacity, the government has said, even while it is also trying to wean the energy system off of fossil fuels to meet climate targets. His defection is an undoubted coup for Reform, the successor to Mr Farage's Brexit party, which plays into the right-wing populism of Donald Trump and carries the slogan: "Make Britain Great Again."įor Mr Sunak, there is no other way to spin this than a body blow. ![]() ![]() Mr Anderson, in a terse media briefing, told his audience he had "done a lot of soul-searching" and decided to quit the Tories to "get my country back", as he launched a broadside against old colleagues for stifling "free speech" and trying to shut him down for "speaking his mind". Just weeks ago he batted off suggestions he'd defect to Reform, having lost his job as deputy party chair for rebelling over the Rwanda bill.īut today, a full-frontal assault as Mr Anderson, having been suspended by the Tories last month after claiming "Islamists" had "got control" of Sadiq Khan, joined Nigel Farage's party in a wounding blow to the PM. And the claim that he would trigger an election if 10 Tory MPs join Reform UK suggests he would defy any move to oust him. It hasn't reached that stage with Mr Sunak yet. Traditionally known as "the men in grey suits", the senior MPs who make up the 1922 Committee executive have the power to make or break prime ministers.Īccording to parliamentary folklore, they have in the past handed a failing party leader "a glass of whisky and a pearl-handled revolver in a darkened room". ![]() The prime minister's threat emerged as he mingled with Conservative MPs at the 1922 Committee's spring reception after a half-hour meeting with the '22 executive. The source of the claim, made to parliamentary colleagues after Lee Anderson's shock defection, is an influential party figure with impeccable connections. Rishi Sunak will call a snap general election if 10 Conservative MPs defect to Reform UK, a top Tory with close links to Downing Street has claimed. He added that more than half of existing plants are reaching end of life.īy Jon Craig, chief political correspondent Pushed for clarity on what exactly is being announced today, the minister said: "It's a consultation, but we've said we will be looking to commission additional capacity." "Although they will be used less and less of the time, they're there to provide that balance when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine." Therefore, in addition to maintaining older plants, "some" new ones will be needed. The minister insisted the government is continuing to invest in renewables, but "in order to ensure we keep the lights on, to keep the energy security of the nation intact - which we will never put at risk - we may need some new gas-fired power". He said the energy system has been "transformed", bringing the use of renewable from "less than 7%" in 2010 to "nearly 50% today". We asked energy minister Graham Stuart exactly what the government is announcing a "complete rewiring" of the energy system following a review of electricity market arrangement. Next, we turn to the speech due to be given later today by Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho, in which she will warn that the UK risks "blackouts" without new gas powered energy plants ( more here). ![]()
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