Chris McDonald MP: speeches

Speeches

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  The shadow Secretary of State and I are clearly both concerned about the same thing. I know that that concern is shared across the House, but deindustrialisation and decarbonisation need not be in competition. Sadly, under the previous Government, there was a 30% reduction in UK cement production, a nearly 50% reduction in automotive production and a 30% reduction in chemicals production. That is why, alongside the ETS policy, we published our industrial strategy; it is why I introduced the British industrial competitiveness scheme to reduce energy costs for 7,000 manufacturing businesses; and it is why we increased the supercharger to 90% for energy intensive industries. Clearly, we recognise that energy costs have been too high in the UK for industrial businesses as well as consumers. That is primarily a result of the policy of the previous Government to leave us at the mercy of petrostates and fossil fuel dictators, on the rollercoaster of fossil fuel prices. The shadow Secretary of State said that my priority is decarbonisation. I happen to be in a place where there is a happy coincidence between energy security, decarbonisation and the lowest cost of energy. That is recognised by industry, and that is why it is Government policy.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  What can be true is that there are both costs and savings for industry, particularly the savings for industry associated with being a member of the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism, which will come into force in 12 months. If we link the UK and the EU ETS, that will enable UK industry to trade freely within the EU, as it has done in the past.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  These changes have the support of the four Governments of the UK. That consensus on advancing carbon pricing policy adds to the strength of the UK ETS. I therefore commend the draft order to the Committee. Question put.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  I feel I have detained the Committee for too long, so if the right hon. Member will excuse me, it would be a good idea to draw the debate—and we have had a good debate—to a close. The statutory instrument will give certainty to the industry around benchmarks and free allocations. The free allocations reduction is specifically for those sectors that are part of the carbon border adjustment mechanism, so some other sectors will not be affected. The legislation needs to be in place for applicants to apply for their free allocations for the period to April 2026. The statutory instrument will implement the proposed improvements to the scheme.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  No, no—I have dealt with that. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim asked me about the issue in Northern Ireland, which is a separate electricity zone. Electricity generators in Northern Ireland have not historically received a free allocation, and in future, the free allocation rules on electricity generation will apply in the same way for the UK and EU operators, assuming that there is linkage. I will return to the point about industry that was made by the shadow Secretary of State, among others. Clearly, the drive is to incentivise investment in industry, and that is precisely what the policy does; that is precisely the mechanism of the carbon price. It is a fallacy to assume that the investment in industry will result in less efficient or more expensive industrial products. That is certainly not the case for the steel industry, where investing in green technology results in lower production costs. The Government’s policy framework gives industrial companies a clear investment framework.

• 27 Jan 2026 · Draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026 · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026. I am grateful to you, Sir Desmond, and to the Committee for their consideration. The draft order was laid before the House on 16 December 2025. The UK emissions trading scheme, the UK ETS, was established under the Climate Change Act 2008 by the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme Order 2020 as a UK-wide greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme contributing to the UK’s emissions reduction targets and net zero goal. The scheme is run by the UK ETS authority, a joint body comprising the UK Government and the devolved Governments. Our aim is to be predictable and responsible guardians of the scheme and its markets. Under the UK ETS, operators are required to monitor, report on and surrender allowances in respect of their greenhouse gas emissions. While most allowances are purchased at regularly held auctions, operators in certain sectors at risk of carbon leakage are given a number of allowances for free, referred to as free allocations. Free allocations reduce exposure to the carbon price for those sectors at risk of carbon leakage and reduce the risk that decarbonisation efforts could be undermined by production, and the associated emissions, moving to other countries. Under the UK ETS, an operator is the person or company that has control over an installation. Installations are stationary units at which regulated activities take place. Sub-installations represent operations carried out at an installation in respect of which operators that receive free allocations are required to report activity levels for the purposes of the UK ETS. We have brought forward this draft statutory instrument to enable important changes and improvements to the scheme. The first change that the instrument makes is to enable operators of installations to be able to notify their regulator that they wish to have their activity data for the 2020 scheme year, or 2020 and 2021 scheme years, excluded from the calculation of their historical activity level for the 2027-to-2030 free allocation period. That is in recognition of the fact that production levels may have been impacted during the covid-19 pandemic. Such operators will be able to notify their regulator during the second stage of the 2027-to-2030 free allocation application, which runs from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026, that they wish to have their activity data for 2020, or 2020 and 2021, excluded. Legal change is needed to the free allocation regulation, because existing legislation would require regulators to calculate historical activity levels using activity data from all five years of the baseline period, or 2019 to 2023. If amendments are not made, there will be no legal basis for regulators to exclude 2020, or 2020 and 2021, data from the historical activity level calculation for any applicant. Using activity data for those years could result in historical activity levels that do not reflect normal activity, meaning that operators would receive fewer free allocations than they would otherwise be entitled to receive. The second change that the draft instrument makes is gradually to phase out free allocation for sectors covered by the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism, or UK CBAM, starting over the 2027-to-2030 allocation period. That phase-out will be implemented through applying a UK CBAM reduction factor to the calculation of free allocation and will apply at sub-installation level. To do that, operators will be required to report which of their sub-installations serve the production of goods within the UK CBAM, which will enable regulators to apply the UK CBAM reduction factor to the relevant sub-installations. Legal change is needed as operators only classify their sub-installations by a specific benchmark and the corresponding carbon leakage status of that sub-installation. The instrument also requires operators to classify each sub-installation as relevant or not to UK CBAM. Benchmarks are the efficiency standards used to calculate each installation’s free allocation entitlement. Installations closer to their benchmark have a higher proportion of emissions covered by free allocation, rewarding more efficient installations and incentivising decarbonisation. The third change that the instrument makes is to use current benchmarks for the purpose of calculating free allocation for stationary installations for the 2027 scheme year. The instrument also provides for the ability to update the benchmark values used to calculate free allocation for the years 2028, 2029 and 2030 of the 2027-to-2030 allocation period. Maintaining current benchmarks for the 2027 year will allow time for industrial participants to adjust to the changes. Legal change is needed to the free allocation regulation because, under existing legislation, there is no provision to update benchmarks during an allocation period. The in-principle intent is to use the updated EU ETS phase 4 benchmarks in the 2028, 2029 and 2030 scheme years. That will be decided once the EU benchmark values are available, and subject to assessment of the impact. Installations that permanently cease to operate are required to report on their activity in the final year of operation so that free allocation can be recalculated to reflect the cessation of activity. The amendment clarifies that operators are required to report on the activity levels of a sub-installation, whether that is due to permanent cessation, as is currently provided for, or the surrender or revocation of the operator’s permit. The intended changes follow comprehensive engagement and consultation with stakeholders. The UK and devolved Governments carried out consultations that covered the provisions included in the statutory instrument. The free allocation review consultation ran from 18 December 2023 to 11 March 2024, seeking views on proposals to alter the free allocation methodology for the UK ETS stationary sectors to better target those most at risk of carbon leakage and ensure that free allocations are fairly distributed. The free allocation review carbon leakage consultation ran between 16 December 2024 and 10 March 2025. It sought views on a draft UK-focused carbon leakage list, compiled by applying UK data to the existing carbon leakage list, as well as the trajectory for phasing out free allocations for sectors that will be covered by the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism. The relevant responses to those consultations were summarised in the authority’s response. The changes in the draft order will deliver on commitments made by the UK ETS authority, improve the fairness of the scheme and increase certainty for both regulators and operators. They will ensure that free allocation continues to provide meaningful support to UK industry while maintaining the incentive to decarbonise and rewarding efficient installations. The amendments to the UK ETS will support its role as a key pillar of the UK’s climate policy. They demonstrate that we will take action to improve the scheme where necessary. I commend the draft order to the Committee.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Renewable Energy Jobs · Hansard source

  More

  Tidal stream is important—I want to be clear about that. We are keen to support it, and we are doing so. The hon. Member mentioned the importance of contracts for difference in supporting marine energy. I previously mentioned the clean industry bonus, and that is exactly how we are doing it: we are using the contracts for difference policy in order to ensure that, through the clean industry bonus, those jobs land in the UK.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Renewable Energy Jobs · Hansard source

  More

  We do recognise the previous issues around grid connections, and accelerating and prioritising connections is something that this Government have taken by the scruff of the neck. I am sure that the Energy Minister will be very happy to meet my hon. Friend—I think we will have a bit of fight to see which of us has the opportunity to visit his most beautiful part of the country.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Renewable Energy Jobs · Hansard source

  More

  The transition to clean energy is the greatest opportunity we have for good job creation across the whole country, with 40,000 extra clean energy jobs in Scotland alone. That is why we published the clean energy jobs plan in October, which sets out how we will work in partnership with industry and trade unions to deliver these jobs.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Renewable Energy Jobs · Hansard source

  More

  This Government recognise the importance of the North sea oil and gas industry, and the importance of oil and gas for decades to come, but we also recognise that the North sea is a declining basin. That is why we published our North sea plan, which supports the transition of workers in the North sea into clean energy jobs, and why we are investing in our clean industry bonus, which incentivises businesses that are investing in offshore wind to ensure that those offshore wind jobs are located here in the UK—a fundamental difference between this Labour Government and the previous Conservative Government, who were happy for those jobs to be based in other countries in Europe.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Renewable Energy Jobs · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for welcoming that news. I know it was a really big day for him, and his dogged determination to champion his constituents is seen both in his constituency and here in this House. We are supporting Grangemouth, and the MiAlgae project, which was announced by the Chancellor in the Budget, is exactly along the lines that he mentions. He talks about investment in sustainable aviation fuel. Many private companies want to invest in sustainable aviation fuel in Grangemouth, in Teesside, in Humberside and across the whole of the UK, and I am sure we will see more such plants in the future.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  Having slightly strayed into the area of the Department for Education earlier, I think it best that I stay out of the area of the Department for Transport. I will, however, ensure that the question is passed on to the relevant Ministers for a response.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

  More

  Happy new year and happy Epiphany, Mr Speaker. Alongside my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and for Business and Trade, I am committed to slashing energy costs for British businesses. From April, eligible energy-intensive industries will see an uplift in compensation for electricity network charges, with 90% of costs being covered. We are also consulting on a British industrial competitiveness scheme that includes our plan to exempt over 7,000 businesses from covering the costs of some our historic renewables levies.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

  More

  I think this shows how committed the Government are to supporting a reduction in costs across all our services, including education and health, through the installation of solar panels. We saw a massive increase in solar installations in the UK last year—equivalent to enough energy generation to power 2 million homes. Not only do solar installations benefit our domestic consumers and enable the creation of green energy, but by installing solar on rooftops such as those of schools and hospitals, we are taking maximum advantage.

• 6 Jan 2026 · Energy Costs: Businesses · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of energy volatility. I hope that it was clear in my previous answer that the Government are not satisfied with the position as it is. Of course, that energy volatility has historically been caused by our reliance on oil and gas and on petrostates and dictators. Clearly, the Conservatives wish to return to that policy. This Government’s clean power mission will ensure that we have energy security for the future. Unlike the climate-denying policies of the Conservatives and Reform, which would destroy jobs and investment in this country, our policies will deliver energy security and green energy for our small and large businesses, and for domestic consumers.

• 6 Jan 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  In the autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced the transfer of the £2.3 billion reserve to members of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. Almost 40,000 former mineworkers and colliery staff received their first bonus increase before Christmas, with an average uplift of £100 a week, or a one-off £5,500 lump sum for backdated pensions. That is the difference that this Labour Government are making for coalfield communities.

• 6 Jan 2026 · British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme · Hansard source

  More

  I thank my hon. Friend for the leadership that he has shown on this issue in the House, and for his letter last month. I can inform him that I am meeting the trustees of the mineworkers’ pension scheme on 4 February and of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme on 18 February. The focus of both those meetings is how we can deal with surplus sharing for the future, and I am keen for it to be resolved as soon as possible.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend makes the point incredibly well about the need to reindustrialise and create good industrial jobs. It is my mission as Industry Minister to release additional productive capacity in the UK that will increase our manufacturing output and improve our productivity and balance of trade. That is rare—it might be decades since a Government have had this level of ambition for our industrial and manufacturing sectors—but for us it is about not just ambition and words but delivering jobs on the ground.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for recognising the importance of both the site and the Government’s intervention. She mentioned the £50 million grant. It is important that hon. Members look at that in the context of the total package: a grant and an investment from the owner of the business—and, as the owner of the business said today, an agreement in principle for a profit-sharing arrangement. That points to the hon. Member’s other question about the detail of the industrial strategy. This industrial strategy is a significant break with the past. It is not about last-minute interventions, which is what the previous Conservative Government did or did not do, depending on how the mood took them. It is about a serious partnership and engagement between Government and industry to ensure that we have sustainable industry in the UK. The hon. Member asked me about energy costs. I mentioned earlier the relative position on energy costs. Of course, we are doing more on that, and I intend to do much more. In answer to her question on whether it would have helped had the scheme been in place earlier, clearly it would have helped if there had been a Labour Government in place earlier. That would be my advice: always vote Labour.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  I do agree with my hon. Friend. I am sure that with Anas Sarwar as the leader at Holyrood, we will be able to implement the Government’s work on Project Willow, which has identified Grangemouth as the ideal site for plastics recycling, biofuels and other projects that will maximise the local competitive advantage and the skills of the workforce.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Gentleman mentions the refinery; as I said earlier, Ineos made the final decision to close the refinery in November 2023, having provided data for years to the Conservative Government in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood, who said and did nothing. The hon. Gentleman talks about the scale of investment; I am really surprised, to be honest, that he has not raised that even more firmly. We are talking about a complete package of investment in Grangemouth, announced by this Government, that approaches half a billion pounds: £100 million in the summer, £200 million from the National Wealth Fund, £14.5 million in the Budget and £150 million in this package. That is only a rounding error shy of half a billion pounds for Grangemouth. I would have thought that the SNP would at least acknowledge that.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  I certainly do agree with my hon. Friend. Given that he represents Edinburgh, he might like to learn an interesting Grangemouth fact: if the Government had not stepped in to support Ineos, the Grangemouth site would be flaring enough gas every day to power the entire city of Edinburgh, such is the scale and importance of the Grangemouth site.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  I very much welcome the hon. Member’s question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about risk appetite in investment, which I certainly am interested in—if other Members are not, I apologise in advance. The National Wealth Fund is doing something special and different, but it is also worth looking at it alongside the other tools that the Government have: the British Business Bank and UK Export Finance. The hon. Member is right that the National Wealth Fund’s job is to crowd in, so it should not be at the easy end of the investment; otherwise, it would be crowding out. It has a target to produce a return on investment. Ultimately, the National Wealth Fund needs to take a portfolio approach that delivers that return. I know that in the past, industrial strategies in this country have suffered from casual approaches around things like “picking winners”—that sort of language is incredibly unhelpful. The point of taking a portfolio approach is that, of course, some businesses will succeed and some will not. Frankly, if every business the National Wealth Fund invests in succeeds, its risk appetite is in the wrong place. Some businesses will fail—we accept that; that is absolutely the point of the approach—but as a result of the National Wealth Fund’s investment partnering with industry in the commercial sector to de-risk projects, we will see some big successes, too.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is right to mention the hard work of the Chief Whip and former Business Secretary, because deals like this with international businesses require a significant amount of discussion and engagement. That is precisely the point of our industrial strategy: it is a partnership in which the Government work closely together with businesses to secure investment for the long term. Investment like this hangs around for a generation and provides generational opportunities for employment in local areas. We know that the decisions that this Government are making will provide those employment opportunities for people in Grangemouth and across Scotland for generations to come.

• 17 Dec 2025 · INEOS Chemicals: Grangemouth · Hansard source

  More

  I enjoyed the analogy about the self-licking ice cream, but it demonstrates a lack of understanding of what a real industrial strategy is on the Conservative side of the House. We all like to think that things are simple, but then we grow up. It is important to recognise that these industries are trading in international markets and need to abide by their rules. What we have done is to create a package that supports a sustainable business plan for that industry. The hon. Member mentions the lower energy prices in the USA—I acknowledge that the USA has lower energy prices, primarily due to its decision to introduce fracking. We have decided not to do that. Is he saying that he would like to do that? If he would, that is fine, but it is a point of difference between us—we will not do that. Our policy is to ensure that our industries remain competitive without that.