Speeches by McCluskey.

“The Conservatives want us to remove a tax that is contributing £12 billion to the Exchequer, funding our public services and allowing us to invest in our schools, hospitals and other public services. If they oppose that funding, they need to come forward with their own proposals. The only route to energy security and l…”

“My hon. Friend makes an important point that gets to the heart of this debate. We are not going to learn the wrong lessons from the current situation in the middle east. We will not make ourselves more reliant on fossil fuels, at a time when we can see playing out day after day in all our constituencies the effect—risi…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his important question. We are taking three additional measures. We are expanding and extending the warm home discount to 2031. We have supported heating oil customers with the £53 million-worth of support that was announced last week, and our £15 billion warm homes plan is the biggest home u…”

“We moved swiftly to introduce funding to support people. The £53 million-worth of support, which is being disbursed through the crisis and resilience fund in England and Wales, will provide support for people through this immediate period. We will keep other measures under review, but if hon. Members have examples of u…”

“We have been importers of gas since 2004, and the Conservatives will know—because they presided over the period of decline—that it has been declining for some time. Recent events in the middle east are yet another reminder of the need to speed up the transition and protect British people from price shocks. Thanks to ou…”

“That is despite what the hon. Member for Boston and Skegness (Richard Tice) might say. This Government will ensure that our oil and gas workers can take advantage of that opportunity while driving for energy sovereignty and abundance with clean home-grown power.”

“We heard in the responses to our 2024 consultation the concerns about the continued risk to consumers arising from some of these TPIs. The Government plan to bring in new regulation of TPIs and will appoint Ofgem as the regulator, which will be empowered to put in place rules to protect small and medium-sized enterpris…”

“I will say to the right hon. Gentleman what I said to his Front Benchers last week: the Conservatives need to stop talking down the North sea. With 1.1 million barrels a day being extracted, that is not an industry being shut down; that is an industry continuing to produce. Just last week, the Minister for Energy met o…”

“The support on offer is not means-tested; it is at the discretion of local authorities to decide the criteria for those applications. That is the first point. The second point is that the CMA is investigating this in detail. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier, if there are any examples, please …”

“My hon. Friend is a real advocate for the industries in his constituency. The Minister for Industry is looking in detail at this and coming forward with proposals for industry to take us through this moment, as we deal with the situation in the middle east. We are bringing forward the next renewables auction months aft…”

“The Chancellor has had discussions with industry and will continue to do so, and that is the right and appropriate way to conduct these decisions. I was pleased to be in Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago talking to the same workers that the right hon. Member mentions. Of course, we need to do as much as possible to ensure…”

“I thank hon. Members for their contributions to the debate. I will turn briefly to each of the points that were raised. The hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire asked about cost. The measure comes at no cost, and there is no additional funding behind the amendment. It is an extension of the obligation largely to ensure …”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) (Amendment) (Specified Period) Order 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Barker. The draft order was laid before the House on 26 January this year. This Government remain fully committed t…”

“I thank hon. Members for their contributions. On the points raised by the Opposition Front Bench spokesperson, in Q2 of this year energy bills will be lower than they were in 2024. He does not need to take that from me; he can see that in the research of the Resolution Foundation. He talks about expensive costs of ener…”

“I am not sure if the hon. Gentleman—[Interruption.]”

“I am happy to be barracked under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. Turning to the point that the hon. Member for Broxbourne raised, he knows that it would not matter if additional oil were extracted from the North Sea—it would not reduce the price of domestic energy in this country. It would not have any impact. If he has ev…”

“I accept what the hon. Gentleman says about fuel poverty having a disproportionate impact in rural areas. The warm home discount applies equally, regardless of whether someone is in a rural area or an urban area, but the Government are taking other actions including through our warm homes plan, which has a particular f…”

“I know that my hon. Friend is a champion for her constituents in Holbrook and across her constituency. Like many hon. Members, she will have seen the increase in the numbers of people this year who are eligible for the warm home discount because of the decision made by the Government to expand the scheme to 6 million h…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Warm Home Discount (England and Wales) Regulations 2026. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I should say to hon. Members that I have a terrible cold and I can barely hear at the moment, so if I do not answer any questions, it is not bec…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the constructive way in which she and other MPs representing rural constituencies have engaged with this process. I can confirm that the money will be available from 1 April.”