On Tuesday (19 May 2026), the House of Commons continued its debate on the King’s Speech, this time with a focus on energy security.

The cost of living is the number one issue facing families and individuals today. With the Iran war, we are currently going through the second fossil fuel shock in four years. The major lesson from this is that while we remain dependent on oil and gas and exposed to the volatility of international fossil fuel markets, our security and living standards will remain vulnerable to foreign wars and the whims of petrostates and dictators.

That is why I back the Government in its mission to get us off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean, homegrown power from our wind, sun and nuclear resources. In the last session of Parliament, it secured enough clean energy through two record-breaking renewable energy auctions to power the equivalent of 23 million homes. It also ushered in a golden age of nuclear through a world-leading small modular reactors programme and commitment to the Sizewell C nuclear project, attracted over £90 billion in private sector investment and took action to bring down energy bills by 7% in April.

I am pleased that in this session, the Energy Independence Bill will give the Government the powers to go further and faster in delivering clean energy and protecting living standards for the long term. It will help tackle the affordability crisis and protect consumers, accelerate the UK’s drive for energy security and deliver a fair, managed and prosperous transition and good jobs in clean energy.