UKGas prices upGas prices rose by nearly 20% after Israel and Iran started bombing each others’ territories. Some observers wondered about the wisdom of Ed Miliband’s efforts to close down UK oil and gas production. Miliband’s humiliationKemi Badenoch called for the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas to be lifted, a not unreasonable request, given the absence of any sort of a windfall at the moment. With tax revenues in decline, Labour was forced deliver a humiliating rebuff to Ed Miliband, indicating a willingness to open the way to the new Rosebank and Jackdaw gas fields. Oil and gas majors watched on with interest. Meanwhile, it was revealed that Whitehall has quietly accepted that fossil fuels are cheaper than renewables. Political ping-pongUndeterred, and perhaps demonstrating something of a disconnect with empirical reality, Ed Miliband announced that he would win the battle over Net Zero. Reform’s Richard Tice begged to differ, suggesting that Labour will be forced to abandon the project. Some never learnExperts tried to explain things to our political leaders. Ed Miliband was told that his plans for rooftop solar on all new builds would deliver chaos. Meanwhile, the SNP administration in Scotland was warned that their plans to ban sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles would lead to disaster too, as garages do not have the staff to switch to servicing electric vehicles on such short timescales. There is no sign that either of these messages got through. Climate hypocrite of the weekLabour’s ‘climate envoy’ was said to be ‘living like a travel writer’ clocking up tens of thousands of air miles. Money for nothingScotland’s Moray West offshore windfarm, which became operational at the end of April, spent the majority of May being paid to sit idle because grid capacity was inadequate to get its output to market. The last Scottish offshore windfarm to open, Seagreen, spent most of its first full year switched off too.
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