Today in Parliament, I asked why the Government is approving six new polluting oil and gas fields in the North Sea, only three months after the COP26 climate summit.

Energy bills are rising by eye watering amounts because of a dependence on volatile gas markets and a failure to quickly transition to renewable energy sources. Yet the Government’s solution to this is to undermine our climate commitments by drilling for more polluting fuels.

Labour would address the energy bill crisis by speeding up our transition to renewable energy, slashing VAT on energy bills and paying for this with a tax on fossil fuel profits – which are now at record highs of $12.8bn for BP and $19.3bn for Shell.

The Government has clearly not learnt its lesson from public outcry over the Cambo oilfield and coalmine in Cumbria. It is time to move away from costly fossil fuels, not worsen our dependence on them.