FORMER Tory minister Chris Skidmore has formally submitted his resignation as an MP in protest over plans to “prioritise and politicise new oil and gas licences”, triggering a by-election in his Kingswood constituency.
Skidmore, who led a UK Government review of net zero, announced on Friday he would stand down as he said the Prime Minister’s environmental stance is “wrong and will cause future harm”.
The bill would mandate that licences for oil and gas projects in the North Sea are awarded annually, and was seen as a challenge to Labour, which said it would ban new exploration licences to focus on renewables.
The MP for Kingswood in South Gloucestershire said the “future will judge harshly” anyone who backs the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill due to be voted on in the Commons on Monday.
He said he could not vote for legislation that “clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas” and would show the UK is “rowing ever further back from its climate commitments”.
“To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained,” he said in his resignation statement.
The UK Government is facing the prospect of a small backbench rebellion as it pushes through new legislation to regularly award new oil and gas licences.
It comes as SNP MPs confirmed their support for the continued use of fossil fuels – saying oil and gas remain necessary in efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions.
An SNP amendment to the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill noted the “role of the exploitation of fossil fuels in ensuring a just transition” and highlighted that experts on the UK’s independent Climate Change Committee were “clear that in reaching net zero by 2050 oil and gas will still be required”.
The SNP’s amendment in Westminster may also cause friction at Holyrood, with the Scottish Greens calling the bill a “polluters’ charter”.
