Energy

A few months after the last election, Oliver Letwin warned Cabinet colleagues that a chunk of Britain’s income would be gone for good after the economic crisis. Letwin, who has always been the Cameron project’s in-house intellectual, told them that some of the complex high finance in which Britain had specialised was never coming back. We would have to develop a new form of economic activity to make up for the loss. The good news is that this new form is looming into view. Fracking the Bowland Shale alone will, on a relatively cautious estimate, produce the equivalent of 90 years of North Sea gas production. We will have to

‘We are going to see how thick their rectory walls are, whether they like the flaring at the end of the drive!’ Said Michael Fallon in jest at the expense of supporters of fracking in the Home Counties. As it happens, our very own Charles Moore lives in a rectory in East Sussex. He wrote this in the Spectator a few weeks back: ‘Another great advance for the environment is shale gas, though for some reason Greens do not see it that way. It will make us — and has already made America — far less dependent on high carbon-emitting sources of energy. It is lucky for those trying to extract

Will Britain’s lack of enthusiasm for shale gas result in a collapse of the government’s whole energy policy? In this week’s Spectator cover feature, Peter Lilley writes we will soon cross this shale rubicon. The former shadow chancellor and advisor to David Cameron vigorously argues that fracking can no longer be ignored in order to make the country’s energy ends meet. On the latest View from 22 podcast, Fraser Nelson discusses Lilley’s theory with Matthew Sinclair of the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the likelihood of another Downing Street u-turn. Will Cameron radically shift the government’s energy policy in an attempt to reduce consumer prices? And can the green lobby be successfully

In association in Centrica How can consumers ensure they are receiving the best possible deal for their energy bills? In this special View from 22 podcast, the Spectator’s political editor James Forsyth discusses issues within in the energy market and some potential solutions for getting the lowest possible energy bills. Is shale gas the answer? Do green subsidies need to be cut? And is the government doing enough to help the consumer? Joining the panel are the Rt Hon Peter Lilley MP, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden and member of the Select Committee on Climate Change, Peter Moorey, Principal Advocate for Which? Consumer Review services and Ian Peters, the

The mini reshuffle earlier this morning is significant. David Cameron has moved Tory ‘greybeards’ to address problem areas. Cameron’s twitter feed has announced: ‘Delighted John Hayes joining me as a Senior Parliamentary adviser – and Michael Fallon adding a key energy role to his brief.’ Benedict Brogan and Tim Montgomerie have good analyses of what this means. In summary it appears that Hayes, a self-confessed ‘blue collar’ Tory and popular MP, is going briefless to the Cabinet Office to help the PM communicate government policy to the backbenches and the working classes. Hayes speaks in plain language. He has been pushing the energy bill through parliament, and has clashed openly

In all the noise of tomorrow’s Budget, many may not spot a small tweak to the fiscal regime for UK oil and gas. Those of us with a close interest in unconventional oil and gas, however, will be watching closely. Last year the Chancellor announced a consultation on a specific tax regime for onshore shale gas development, the results of which are expected on Wednesday. Press coverage of shale gas is often characterised by myth and hyperbole. For some, it’s the last gasp for fossil fuels; for others, a new source of energy security and the key to bringing down bills for industry and consumers. We are not used to

The Tories in opposition were very keen on their ‘Green Deal’ for making existing housing stock energy efficient. It formed the cornerstone of their pledge when the Coalition formed to be the ‘greenest government ever’. It had its big full launch today, with new loans available for homeowners to insulate their properties and pay back the money through their energy bills. The only problem is that the Green Deal isn’t quite the big all-singing all-dancing deal the government envisaged. The idea was that big businesses would lead the way in providing the scheme, but one of the leading retailers who expressed initial interest in the scheme, Marks and Spencer, isn’t

This week’s Think Scotland column takes a gander, just for once, at the Scottish Green party. Patrick Harvie’s party is in favour of Scottish independence for reasons that, frankly, seem pretty damn unconvincing. I suspect that the Greens, like those parts of the far-left that also favour independence, are liable to be desperately disappointed by life in an independent Scotland and that they will come to realise that it is not much better than their present miserable existence within the United Kingdom. Harvie, of course, rejects the label “nationalist”. He is, he insists, no such thing and you don’t need to be a nationalist to favour independence. Well, maybe not.