Ed Miliband MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises an important issue. The way to get bills down is to drive for clean energy, which the Conservatives oppose. Why have bills gone up in the last few months? Because of the Iran war. [ Interruption. ] They know that they have gone up because of the Iran war—

• 7 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes a really important point. I am happy to give that undertaking. We want to see the opportunities around SMRs throughout the United Kingdom. I am happy to discuss that with him.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The truth is that we all face a choice on the future of our energy system. Do we learn the lessons of history—of two fossil-fuel crises in five years, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Iran war—and say that we want energy sovereignty with clean, home-grown power that we control, or do we not? We have made our choice.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s question, because the situation facing families who use heating oil has been significant since the Iran war started. That is why we made money available, including to the Scottish Government, to help families in particular hardship. We have also increased the help available through the boiler upgrade scheme for those families using heating oil. I continue to discuss what more we can do with colleagues across Government.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We will look at all suggestions, including my hon. Friend’s. We do look at cumulative impact in the planning process, and the strategic spatial energy plan will be very important. Members have raised this before. It is very important to understand the concerns of local people when planning where infrastructure is to be built.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Large-scale Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  I agree with my hon. Friend. He puts it very well. Our renewables auctions have resulted in enough power to power the equivalent of 23 million homes. That is significantly cheaper than building new gas-fired power stations, which is what the shadow Secretary of State wants to do; I am old enough to remember when she was in favour of clean energy—but never mind. The Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North West (Katie White), mentioned London Climate Action Week, and what is so striking is that countries around the world are drawing the same lesson: that we need to electrify and get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Large-scale Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  What is he on, Mr Speaker? To be clear, even in the most ambitious scenarios, our plans for solar in 2030 would use 0.6% of agricultural land; I am happy to repeat that. I do not know what makey-uppy nonsense the shadow Minister is producing. The wider issue is that the Conservatives complain about energy bills, and energy bills are too high, but we have the cheapest form of power available—solar power—and they say no to it. They want to keep us hooked on fossil fuels, and we saw the impact of that with the Iran war and the Russia-Ukraine crisis. I think the Conservatives have got to go back to the drawing board.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Large-scale Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  No, we are not going to pause our development of solar power—it is essential to get bills down for families and get us off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels. We take safety incredibly seriously; the Energy Minister has met the National Fire Chiefs Council and is working assiduously on these issues, and I am sure he would be happy to meet the hon. Lady.

• 7 Jul 2026 · Large-scale Solar Farms · Hansard source

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  Solar power is one of the cheapest sources of energy available to us. I am proud that we have consented nearly 6 GW of solar power since this Government came into office—around six times the amount that the previous Government consented. This year has seen record solar power, generating around 20 TWh of electricity and providing around 7% of the total electricity generated. If we want lower energy bills, new solar is an essential part of making that happen.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  First, I thank the shadow Secretary of State for her kind words about my mum. If you will allow me to say so, Mr Speaker, I feel incredibly sad to have lost her, but very lucky to have had 56 years with an amazing mum, who taught me values of kindness, warmth, love and justice. It is a reminder to me of what really matters most in our lives. I sincerely thank the shadow Secretary of State for the message she sent me. On the question about the use of forced labour, we take this incredibly seriously. We inherited a regime from the last Government, which we applied in the early stages of what GB Energy was doing, but the shadow Secretary of State will know that, through the passage of the Great British Energy Bill, we have strengthened GB Energy’s commitment to this. Frances O’Grady is now the champion of dealing with slave labour. I can absolutely assure the shadow Secretary of State that we will do everything we can to prevent the use of forced labour.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Tony Blair has lots of interesting views. I am actually old enough to remember when Tony Blair was a great advocate of climate leadership in this country. Fundamentally, this Government and I believe that unless we get off the fossil-fuel rollercoaster—I think all Members have to confront this—we will never get the energy security and lower bills that all our constituents want.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am afraid that the shadow Secretary of State is indulging in the worst sort of scaremongering to justify her anti-clean-energy agenda. It is incredibly sad what has happened to her. She used to believe in clean energy. Today, a report comes out from CBI Economics, showing 1 million jobs in net zero, and what does she do? She starts quibbling about the small print, and saying that the report does not represent the views of CBI, when the CBI chief economist is actually advocating for clean energy.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  No matter how many times I tell the hon. Gentleman, he does not seem to get it: we are price takers, not price makers. Even the Conservatives, who want to drill every last drop, do not claim that that would reduce bills. The truth is, he said he would— [Interruption.] If the hon. Gentleman calms down for a minute, he will hear my answer. He said he would wage war on clean energy—that is waging war on jobs across our country and on energy security.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Today we have set out our proposal for the seventh carbon budget, as new research from CBI Economics shows that over a million workers are now supported by the UK’s net zero economy. This comes after 2025 set a new record for solar generation, and we have already set a new record in 2026 for offshore wind generation. We are taking these steps because they are the right choice for energy security, and for investment in good jobs and growth, and because it is the right thing to do for future generations and to prevent climate breakdown.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend raises an important point. The strategic spatial energy plan, which will be coming out later this year, is designed precisely to ensure the kind of co-ordination that she is after. I am very happy to meet her to talk about it.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a really important point. If I might actually praise the previous Government, some of what they did on renewables has helped to reduce wholesale costs. The problem is that the Conservatives have now abandoned their position. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: the only answer to the crisis we face is to go further, faster, on getting off fossil fuels and on to clean power.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I am incredibly excited about this project between X-energy and Centrica—I have met both to talk about it. It is part of this Government overseeing the biggest nuclear building programme in half a century, and that is absolutely part of the clean power mission.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We take this issue incredibly seriously, and we are talking to the Competition and Markets Authority to make sure that the pricing is fair. We continue to monitor this, and to look at what further action may be necessary.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Lady for her kind words about my mum. Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the progress of planning applications, as she will know, but I will definitely pass on her comments to my Department.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  The right hon. Gentleman and I go back a long way, so I thought I would answer this one. It is important to look at the whole context of carbon emissions in projects, but if he shares our desire to reduce carbon emissions, renewable energy and nuclear energy are the right way forward.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Energy Bills · Hansard source

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  The price cap increase announced last week as a result of the war in Iran was deeply concerning news for families in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Tackling the cost of living crisis is the Government’s top priority, which is why we have acted to take £150 of costs off bills in the coming years and expanded the warm home discount, and why we are accelerating the warm homes plan. We will do everything we can to help protect her constituents in the face of this fossil fuel price spike.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Energy Bills · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend makes a very important point, and does so in her articulate way. The big choice that we in this House face is this: is the way out of a fossil fuel crisis to double down on fossil fuels, in a way that would make no difference to bills and prices, or is the answer to drive further and faster for clean energy, as this Government are doing? We have made our choice.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Clean Power · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I know that the Energy Minister has met him and the National Fire Chiefs Council to discuss this issue. We take the safety of battery technology incredibly seriously, and I am sure that the Energy Minister will be happy to meet him again for further discussions.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Clean Power · Hansard source

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  The two renewables auctions under this Government have secured power for the equivalent of 23 million homes, and we are embarked on the biggest nuclear building programme for 50 years. The war in Iran shows that we need to go further and faster, so we will open our next renewables auction next month. We recently signed contracts for a fleet of Rolls-Royce small modular reactors. Clean power is already reducing wholesale electricity prices by up to a quarter, and those steps will do more to protect families and businesses across our country.

• 2 Jun 2026 · Clean Power · Hansard source

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  For reasons that the right hon. Gentleman will understand, I am not going to comment on individual planning decisions, because they have to go through the proper process, but I say to him that solar is the cheapest, cleanest form of power that we have. We can decide to bury our heads in the sand and stay on the fossil fuel rollercoaster, but the people who will pay for it are his constituents, because they are paying for it now in higher energy Bills. This Labour Government will keep going with the drive for clean power.