Energy prices will be rising by an average 13% from next month, meaning the typical annual bill will now be over £2,000 for many households. When added to the hugely increased cost to fill up with petrol or diesel, as well as other inflationary pressures on food and everyday household items, the pressure on household budgets is getting worse.
There is no doubt that warmongering Donald Trump, the hero of Nigel Farage and his Reform councillors, is to blame for the latest spike in energy and fuel prices that is costing everyone dearly, but the UK’s vulnerability to energy shocks and the severity of their impact, is down to the Labour Government.
It is hard to comprehend why the government refuse to give new licences to extract our remaining huge natural resources of oil and gas in British waters in the North Sea, preferring instead to import from Norway and further afield. This failure to invest in our energy security will continue to make us much more vulnerable to energy shocks than we should be.
It’s not like this is something new. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022 and was a huge wake-up call to Europe on many fronts, including on energy security. This has not gone away and we’ve become more dependent on importing gas supplies from the Middle East, rather than looking to increase domestic extraction.
No one sensible denies that we need to continue the move away from using fossil fuels. Huge progress has already been made, but the remaining progress must be in a sustainable way that doesn’t badly hit households and our economy. At the general election, Labour promised to reduce household energy bills by £300, but they’ve risen by £221.
Before enough nuclear and renewable energy comes onstream, the Conservatives rightly say that opening up drilling in the North Sea would create greater energy security and bring in billions in extra tax revenue, enabling tax cuts. Only the Conservatives have a Cheap Power Plan to cut energy bills by £200 for the average family and slash businesses’ electricity costs by 20%.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
3rd June 2026
