Ed Miliband has been accused of being “allergic to British oil and gas” in a scathing attack by a Conservative MP.Speaking to GB News, Harriet Cross hit out at the Energy Secretary for driving the Labour Government’s “idealistic energy policy”.Criticising the lack of support for struggling Britons at the petrol pumps as fuel prices continue to surge, Ms Cross argued that the approach is “nothing new” for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.She told GB News: “We’re used to this from the Prime Minister – Labour is very good at pointing out what’s happening, but not necessarily what the solution will be.
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“Unlike the FConservatives, who today have been calling for the need to increase drilling in the North Sea.”Hailing the work of Tory leader Kemi Badenoch in pushing for North Sea extraction, she added: “We’ve had Kemi up in Aberdeen on the drilling rig, pointing out just how important the North Sea is to the UK, whether that’s for jobs or energy security, but also for investment and tax return.”And that tax return is vital, because there’s £25billion of tax which is being left under the North Sea because of Labour’s policies.”Ms Cross also stressed that if the Labour Government “reversed the windfall tax” and scrapped their “mad ban on new drilling licences”, that tax could “come into the Treasury and could be spent to help reduce bills for everybody in the country”.Challenging the Tory MP, host Martin Daubney argued that the energy levy duty was “introduced by Jeremy Hunt and Rishi Sunak”, making it a “Conservative tax”.She responded: “We certainly were the party who brought it in back in 2022 when prices spiked significantly higher than they have now, and also at a time when many other countries also were. But since then and since coming to power, Labour have increased the levy. “They increased it to mean that oil and gas companies are now paying 78 per cent – they also extended it out to 2030. And we’re the only country left in the world with a windfall tax on oil and gas.”Highlighting the economic impact on Britain, Ms Cross stressed that Labour’s stance on oil and gas means “investment is leaving the UK”.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSRachel Reeves branded ‘out of touch’ as Robert Jenrick issues fresh fuel demandPetrol and diesel prices spark calls for Rachel Reeves to cut fuel duty as companies face ‘collapse’Business owner issues desperate plea to Rachel Reeves after being hammered with extra 48% fuel costShe said: “It’s going to other countries overseas, which is leading us to have reduced production from the North Sea and losing thousands of jobs. A thousand jobs a month are being lost from our oil and gas sector because of the Government’s policies.”They’ve also put in this ban on licences, so everything regards to the North Sea is getting worse under Labour, and that is because Ed Miliband is at the helm and he is driving their idealistic energy policy, which seems completely allergic to anything that is British oil and gas. “They’ll import oil and gas from abroad, but they will not use our own oil and gas from the North Sea.”Pushing back on Ms Cross’s criticism, Martin argued that the UK’s net zero targets were “religiously pursued by Boris Johnson’s Government”, and the “Conservatives brought them in”.Ms Cross responded: “The energy profits levy, which I said we we did bring in when prices were spiking in 2022, that had an end date. That end date was was extended by Labour, and the rate of tax was increased long after oil and gas companies were seeing record profits. “I’m absolutely not saying we got everything right, and I think the party have said that numerous times, but what I am saying is that Labour have made the situation with the North Sea 10 times worse, and that is why we’ve seen Kemi throwing her full weight behind North Sea drilling.”The Tory MP assured: “She was always one of the few speaking out about net zero when she was first in Parliament, long before I got elected. She’s been very firm on this, very strong on this. She does not see the North Sea as something that we should be running away from. It’s something that we should be embracing. “It is a vital asset for the UK, it’s a vital asset for our energy security and we completely support it.”
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