Gas flare-up in Parliament

Yesterday the Speaker of the House of Commons furiously reprimanded the Government for telling the news media about the North Sea “Jackdaw” gas drilling approval before announcing it in the House. This is not the first time that Hoyle has taken Labour to task for arrogantly sidelining Parliament and therewith the electorate. The Mail’s Quentin Letts described the telling-off as volcanic. Watch the explosion from 12:48 here: https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/cbcb29bd-5303-42c8-97de-a2cd2fc79386?in=12:48:19

As a result of this breach of protocol environmental activists were protesting outside the Department of Energy even before the official announcement in the Debating Chamber:

That was a bit quick, wasn’t it? Interesting demographic, too.

At least they weren’t setting fire to the city, unlike in France - so polluting!

But don’t they realise that there is more than one path to Net Zero? While we hope to power the nation one day solely with “clean” energy we have to keep the lights on and fossil fuels are needed during the changeover.

Perhaps they truly don’t understand. And why should we expect them to, when much of the news media and the Government fails to make that case?

Is yesterday’s policy announcement a tacit admission that however imperfect our democratic system may be it does matter after all? A population sitting in the cold and dark eating bread sandwiches and baked beans straight out of the can is unlikely to vote for a Labour Party that put them in that position.

Unfortunately this unlikely to be much of a boost for the Conservative Opposition. When they were in power they had ample opportunity to repeal the 2008 Climate Change Act and chose not to. Kemi Badenoch said in March last year that Net Zero by 2050 is not achievable and in the following October the Party finally pledged to ditch the Act. Too late? And they have still not been forgiven for other matters; they may wait in vain for “Buggins’ turn.”

Is the Jackdaw gas decision a signal that Labour is growing up and becoming commonsensical, or is it a misleading flirt preparatory to going to the polls while the parties of the Right are inadequately prepared and fighting each other?