Conservatives use Opposition Day to call on the Government to back Cheap Power Plan

• Cut electricity bills by £165 by axing the Carbon Tax and scrapping rip-off wind subsidies.
• Stop Ed Miliband's current wind auction which will lock the country into sky-high energy bills for decades
• Get Britain Drilling Again and scrap job-destroying Energy Profits Levy 

Today [Wednesday 12^th November 2025], the Conservatives will use an Opposition Day motion to force a vote on their Cheap Power Plan – a plan to cut everybody's electricity bill by 20% – or £165 for the average household.

Part of the Conservatives' Cut My Bills campaign, the motion calls on Labour to back the plan to put cheap energy first through four key steps:

1. Axe the Carbon Tax

The Carbon Tax makes up a third of the wholesale price of electricity and makes electricity artificially expensive. It was designed to drive coal off the system, but since we no longer use coal and we need gas as reliable power to keep the lights on, it simply pushes up the price of gas, wind, solar, and nuclear too. Axing the Carbon tax would save the average household £75 on their electricity bills.

The Conservatives are also challenging Labour not to load more costs onto gas, including through new levies or taxes on boilers, which would make heating more expensive and punish ordinary families for trying to stay warm.

1. Scrap Ed Miliband's old wind subsidies (Renewable Obligation)

These lucrative subsidies are paid to wind and solar farms on top of the market price of electricity, meaning some wind farms are receiving up to three times the market price for their electricity – all paid for by consumers on their electricity bills. We are calling on the Government to use primary legislation to repeal this subsidy scheme, which will reduce the average household's electricity bills by £90.

Together, the measures in the Cheap Power Plan would cut electricity bills by 20 per cent for everyone instantly.  

1. Stop Ed Miliband's latest wind auction, AR7

We are also calling on the Labour Government to halt the AR7 wind auction. Experts say that Miliband's current renewables auction will lock Britain into paying higher energy prices for decades. The prices Ed Miliband is set to pay for offshore wind to meet his Clean Power 2030 targets are much higher than the current cost of electricity and significantly higher than the cost of electricity from gas without the Carbon Tax. He has also extended the wind developers' subsidy contracts to twenty years – meaning we will be locked into higher prices for longer. It won't just be us paying these prices, but our children too.

1. Back British Oil and Gas

The motion also calls for an end to Labour's effective ban on new oil and gas licences and the scrapping of their damaging Energy Profits Levy.

Britain still relies on oil and gas for around three-quarters of its energy needs. Domestic production supports over 200,000 jobs and contributes billions in tax revenue. Labour's hostility to the North Sea has already cost thousands of jobs and is pushing companies like Harbour Energy and EnQuest to move investment overseas. Ending Labour's North Sea ban and scrapping the Energy Profits Levy would protect skilled jobs, secure our energy independence, and stop Britain becoming reliant on imported gas with higher emissions.

Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, will host a roundtable with leading oil and gas companies alongside Scottish Conservative Leader Russell Findlay to discuss the future of Britain's energy security and investment in the North Sea.

Labour promised to cut household energy bills by £300, but since taking power, bills have risen by almost £200. Furthermore, the UK has already halved its emissions since 1990, reducing emissions by more than any other major economy. But global emissions are rising and countries like China are not following our lead. Continuing down this path of higher energy bills, job losses, and lower economic growth will make us a warning, not an example, to the rest of the world. We must put cheap, reliable energy and a stronger economy first.

This approach reflects the Conservative Party's commitment to delivering the cheap, reliable energy families and businesses need to power a stronger economy.

Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Energy Secretary, said:

“Labour promised to cut energy bills by £300, but they keep rising and they are locking us into higher prices for decades. Every decision they make seems designed to make energy more expensive and families poorer.

“Our Cheap Power Plan will fix this. We'll axe the Carbon Tax, scrap Miliband's rip-off subsidies, overturn their mad ban on drilling in the North Sea, and cut every family's electricity bill by 20 per cent instantly or £165 for the average family.

“We have some of the cleanest electricity in the world, but it's also the most expensive. The Government should back our Cheap Power Plan and put cheap energy first.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Energy bills have gone up under Labour:

• Labour dropped their pledge to cut energy bills by £300, despite promising it during the election. Throughout the general election campaign Labour pledged to cut energy bills by £300, but have overseen an increase in energy bills, and have failed to recommit to their pledge now they are in government (The Daily Mail, 5 September 2024, link). 

• The energy price cap will have increased by £187 since Labour came to power. The energy price cap for July to September 2024 was £1,568 compared to £1,755 for October to December 2025, a £187 increase (Ofgem, Energy Price Cap, accessed 7 August 2025, link).

Net Zero has increased our energy bills:

• Almost half of the cost of producing electricity in Britain is a result of Net Zero spending, taxes and levies. Research by the Renewable Energy Foundation found that the equivalent of 40 per cent of the cost of producing electricity in Britain, £22 billion a year, is paying for the costs of renewables and Net Zero, including various renewable subsidies, the Carbon Tax, backup for when renewables cannot generate power, paying wind farms to switch off when it's too windy, and the cost of building the pylons required to connect renewables to the grid. All of these costs are recovered through our energy bills. (Renewable Energy Foundation, UK Renewable Electricity Subsidy Totals: 2002 to the Present Day, accessed 26 September 2025, link).

• A third of the wholesale price of electricity is the Carbon Tax. The Carbon Tax, comprised of the Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Price Support, accounts for around 30 per cent of the wholesale cost of electricity. Both the Climate Change Committee and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero accept that the Carbon Tax increases the wholesale price of electricity. This is a policy choice designed to aid the transition to Net Zero. (Ember, European electricity prices and costs, accessed 26 September 2025, link; Climate Change Committee, Energy Prices and Bills: Annex, March 2017, link; DESNZ, Form, 19 September 2025, link).

• The Renewable Obligation subsidy scheme has increased electricity bills by over £67 billion. Ofgem data shows that families and businesses have spent at least £67 billion subsidising renewables through the ROC scheme since 2002. (Ofgem, Renewables Obligation: Annual Report, March 2025, link).

• Ed Miliband's decision to double the subsidies for offshore wind in 2008 means many wind farm developers are paid almost three times the market price for their output. The average wholesale electricity price in 2024 was around £72 per MWh. The ROC subsidy rate is £67.06 per ROC. Many offshore wind farms are entitled to two ROCs per MWh on top of the market price, meaning they are paid £206 per MWh for every unit of electricity. For comparison, the cost of electricity from gas without a Carbon Tax is around £55 per MWh. (Ofgem, Renewables Obligation: buy-out price, 18 February 2025, link).

The Climate Change Act 2008 – passed by Ed Miliband under the last Labour Government – is forcing the UK to reduce emissions by rigid targets, making us poorer:

• The Climate Change Act commits the UK to reducing emissions by rigid targets to achieve Net Zero by 2050, forcing the UK to prioritise climate targets over the economy and the cost of living. The UK's carbon budgets – mandated by the CCA – set a legally binding limit on the UK's greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve Net Zero by 2050, without flexibility to limit the impact on our economy or the cost of living. (Climate Change Act, accessed 30 September 2025, link). 

• The Climate Change Act forces Ministers to make decisions that increase energy bills, deindustrialise Britain, and make people poorer. Because the emission reduction targets are legally binding, Ministers are forced to impose policies like the Carbon Tax, renewables subsidies, the Boiler Tax, and petrol car bans which increase the cost of electricity and take money out of people's pockets solely for the purpose of meeting climate targets.

• The Climate Change Act pretends that all that matters are the emissions that are produced within the UK's borders. The Climate Change Act only counts territorial emissions. If a business shuts down in the UK and moves its operations to a country with dirtier energy like China, which still runs on coal, that is counted as a win for our climate targets – but global emissions have increased and Britain has become poorer. This is not good for Britain or tackling climate change. (Climate Change Act, accessed 30 September 2025, link). 

The Conservatives will Axe the Carbon Tax, scrap Ed's extortionate wind subsidies, and repeal the Climate Change Act to cut energy bills:

• The Conservatives will repeal the Climate Change Act 2008. The Climate Change Act established legally binding, five-yearly carbon reduction targets. These policy changes would likely not be possible if we had to stick to our legally binding climate targets under the Act. This is proof that the Climate Change Act forces Ministers to make decisions that increase the cost of energy and make people poorer. (Climate Change Act, accessed 26 September 2025, link).

• The Conservatives will axe the Carbon Tax for electricity generation, saving families £75 a year. The Carbon Tax (the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and Carbon Price Support (CPS)) will be scrapped for electricity generation. This will reduce wholesale electricity prices by around 30 per cent, or around £26 per MWh, saving households £75 per year on their electricity bills. The ETS and CPS are taxes that are charged on gas power stations when they generate electricity, which are passed straight through to households and businesses in their energy bills. (Conservative Party Analysis of DESNZ data, 26 September 2025).

• The Conservatives will scrap Ed Miliband's extortionate old renewable subsidies, saving families £90 a year. The Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) scheme pays subsidies to wind and solar farms and other renewable generators, who are paid up to three times the market price of electricity. These subsidies are paid by every household and almost all businesses through their electricity bills. The ROC subsidies are reliant on primary legislation, meaning they can be stopped at any point. Scrapping this would save households £90. (Ofgem, Policy cost allowance methodology, accessed 26 September 2025, link).

Labour have introduced an effective ban on new oil and gas licences: 

• Labour made a manifesto commitment to not issue any new licences to explore new oil and gas fields in the North Sea. Labour's manifesto said: ‘We will not issue new licences to explore new fields because they will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis. In addition, we will not grant new coal licences and will ban fracking for good' (The Labour Party, Manifesto 2024, 13 June 2024, link). 

• The government has consulted on banning new oil and gas licences and stated that it will not issue new licences. On 5 March 2025, the government launched a consultation called ‘Building the North Sea's energy future' in which Ed Miliband said: ‘It is for these reasons that, while we will manage existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan, the government committed not to issue licences to explore new fields' (DESNZ, Consultation, 30 April 2025, link). 

• Labour dropped the Conservatives plan to appeal a Supreme Court ruling which blocked the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. On 29 August 2024, Labour announced they would not appeal a Supreme Court ruling which said that emissions must be considered when environmental impact assessments are being carried out. Following the ruling, on 30 January 2025, the Outer House of the Court of Session in Scotland ruled that permission to develop the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields was granted unlawfully (BBC News, 30 August 2025, link; BBC News, 29 August 2024, link). 

• Jackdaw and Rosebank fields would have provided a significant amount of Britain's oil and gas requirements. Rosebank is the largest known undeveloped oil and gas field in UK waters and is estimated to contain between 300 million and 500 million barrels of oil. Jackdaw was expected to produce 6.5 per cent of the UK's gas production and provide enough fuel to heat 1.4 million homes (Beale, February 2025, link). 

Labour's ban on new oil and gas licences is devastating the industry: 

• David Whitehouse, CEO of Offshore Energy UK, has warned that 1,000 jobs will be lost every month in the oil and gas industry between now and 2030. WHITEHOUSE: ‘Today, we are seeing skilled jobs being lost on a scale that would be unacceptable in any other sector. Almost 1,000 direct and indirect jobs in the UK oil and gas sector are set to be lost every month between now and 2030. But with supportive government policies, it doesn't have to be this way' (OEUK, Press Release, 18 August 2025, link). 

• Analysis by Offshore Energy UK (OEUK) and Westwood Global Energy Group found that 7.5 billion barrels of oil and gas could still be produced from UK waters, around half of our oil and gas need. The analysis found the UK could meet half of its oil and gas needs from the North Sea with potentially 7.5 billion barrels of oil and gas able to be produced from UK waters – 3.2 billion more than current estimates. This could add £165 billion in economic value (OEUK, Press Release, 23 June 2025, link). 

• Offshore Energy UK (OEUK) has warned that without further investment, Britain will be reliant on imports for 80 per cent of its oil and gas needs by 2030. Oil and gas production has fallen to a record low of 40 per cent of consumption for the third quarter in 2024. OEUK has warned this could fall to 20 per cent by 2030 without further investment (OEUK, Press Release, 24 February 2025, link). 

• The oil and gas industry employs and supports 200,000 jobs. In 2022-23, oil and gas production contributed around £25 billion to the economy and supported over 200,000 jobs, of which 84,000 are in Scotland (OEUK, Key facts, accessed 31 August 2025, link). 

• One in seven people in Aberdeen are directly employed in oil and gas. Between 13 and 17 per cent of people in Aberdeen City are employed directly in oil and gas (Hansard, Vol 765 Col 404WH, 23 April 2025, link). 

• 23,000 people in Aberdeen City are employed in the energy sector. In Aberdeen City, 23,000 people are employed in the ‘energy' sector with 7,000 employed in the sector in Aberdeenshire (The Chemical Engineer, 29 July 2025, link). 

• A report by EY Item Club said that Aberdeen has lost 18,000 jobs since 2010, equivalent to 10 per cent of its workforce. The EY Item Club report said: ‘Aberdeen is one of the few local authority districts in Scotland to have fewer jobs in 2023 than in 2010. During this time, it has lost nearly 18,000 jobs, equivalent to 10 per cent of its workforce in 2010, largely due to the ongoing decline in the locally important oil and gas industry' (AGCC, News, 3 December 2024, link). 

The Conservatives will overturn the ban on supporting oil and gas exports: 

• In 2021, it was announced that Britain would end UK Export Finance support, trade funding for overseas fossil fuel projects where specific criteria is not met. The government banned companies that derive between 5 and 10 per cent of their revenue from fossil fuels from accessing an Export Development Guarantee (EDG) unless they had a commitment to reduce revenue from fossil fuels, that is actively transitioning away from fossil fuels or that a has clear commitment to align future activities with the Paris agreement. Further restrictions were placed on companies that derived over 10 per cent of their revenue from fossil fuels that did not have a Climate Transition Plan. In this case, they could not apply for an EDG and would instead apply for a Transition Export Development Guarantee (TEDG). Under a TEDG, the interest rate is linked to achieving goals set out in the Climate Transition Plan, the availability period will not be longer than one year, the repayment period will not be longer than 4 years and monitoring, audit and verification will be required to assess progress against goals in the transition plan. The government described these as ‘very limited exceptions' (PMO, Press Release, 12 December 2020, link; UKEF, Guidance, 17 August 2021, link). 

• Between 2016 and 2020, the government supported £21 billion of UK oil and gas exports. In the four years to 2020, the government supported £21 billion of UK oil and gas exports through trade promotion and export finance (DESNZ, Press Release, 12 December 2020, link).