5th Mar 2026 14:28
(Alliance News) - Ed Miliband has said he is confident the country's energy supply is robust despite the conflict in the Middle East disrupting oil and gas shipping lanes.
The UK Energy secretary defended the government's policy not to allow new North Sea exploration licences, and said they would not make any difference to energy bill.
Miliband said more green energy would solidify the country's energy supplies, meaning the UK is less reliant on other countries.
He also said it would futureproof the UK against economic shocks, as he attributed half of the recessions of the last 50 years to fossil fuel price crises.
It comes as the conflict in Iran has seen shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Gulf to the Arabian Sea, "significantly" reduce due to attacks.
About a fifth of all global oil and LNG [liquefied natural gas] passes through the strait.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Miliband told MPs: "I've been in touch with National Gas and Neso [National Energy System Operator], who are confident about our security of supply [of gas].
"On oil, we hold substantial emergency commercial stocks and stand ready to work with the International Energy Agency to support the stability of oil markets if needed."
He said the government had continued to learn lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which led to energy prices surging due to the boycott and disruption to Russian gas pipelines.
He also reiterated the consumer energy price cap, which is paid by households, is fixed until the start of July. Prices are set to fall by 7% from April 1.
Miliband said: "I warned at the time it was a foolish and dangerous gamble to bet on geopolitical stability at a time of greater geopolitical instability than at any time for generations.
"I warned the opposition failed to learn the lessons from the Ukraine crisis, which caused the worst cost-of-living crisis in memory, and I warned that a dogma of opposing clean energy would damage this country and risk families and businesses being left to pick up the bill.
"The events of recent days have unfortunately shown why this would be such a dangerous and reckless strategy, and we will continue to reject it."
It came as Conservative shadow energy minister Harriet Cross urged the government to rethink its approach to North Sea gas and oil.
Responding to Miliband, Cross said: "It is a vital energy source. Every molecule of gas produced by the UK in the North Sea is piped on to our shores and into our grid.
"The oil produced comes on shore either here or to Europe to be refined. It does not, and cannot, get caught into the Straits of Hormuz or elsewhere. It is a secure supply of oil for the UK."
Cross added: "It is a resource that the government and this Secretary of State is actively trying to shut down, however."
She said the government should overturn its ban on new oil and gas licences, and grant the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields off the coast of Scotland.
Miliband replied: "On the North Sea, I think she said it's an incredibly important resource, which is exactly what I said in my statement, and indeed we listened to the industry and took a pragmatic approach on tiebacks to existing fields, welcomed by the industry, to keep our manifesto commitment of keeping existing oil and gas fields open for their lifetime."
He added: "New exploration licences particularly in the light of tiebacks will make no difference to production, and here's the really important thing about this, it's on average 10 years from exploration to production."
By Harry Taylor, Press Association Political Staff
Press Association: Finance
source: PA
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