Ed Davey
MP for Kingston and Surbiton · Liberal Democrat · United Kingdom
“I associate myself with the Prime Minister’s opening remarks, not least about the 25th anniversary of the horrific terror attacks of 9/11. I welcome the Government finally banning imports from illegal Israeli settlements, something Keir Starmer should have done a long time ago.”
“I thank the Prime Minister for that answer. Britain should be the safest country in the world to have a baby. We will keep raising this issue until it is the safest.”
“No mother should have to give birth in such circumstances. Does the Prime Minister agree that Musgrove Park cannot wait until 2033 for work to start on a new maternity unit? Will he offer a meeting to local MPs, so we can move it forward? And will he make fixing the maternity scandal across our country a top priority of his Government?”
“I hope at that summit the Prime Minister will negotiate a good deal for our country, our economy and our defence, and that means rejoining the single market. North Devon’s maternity unit has been closed for three weeks due to staff shortages, so women now have to travel for up to two hours to give birth.”
“The Prime Minister said yesterday that Brexit ushered in “a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.” —[ Official Report , 1 September 2026; Vol. 790, c. 27.] He is right. Our economy is stuck in this mess thanks to the Conservatives—and the leader of Reform UK—and their terrible Brexit deal.”
“There are so many more problems in our political system: too much power in the hands of social media barons who interfere in our politics and crypto billionaires who use donations to buy influence; and too little power in the hands of our people.”
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“Forward markets help reduce risk and therefore help reduce prices for consumers. They help competition and smooth prices for consumers that make fixed-price deals.”
“People can either trust Labour politicians to fix energy prices for them with state intervention or they can trust the growing number of new, smaller energy suppliers which are already delivering for millions of people, taking on Labour’s big six with competition. People can opt for the right hon. Lady’s approach to improving our energy markets—policy on the hoof with 1970s-style price controls—or they could opt for the most detailed ever, in-depth inquiry into Britain’s energy markets by independent experts. Above all, at the next election, people can vote for energy price freezes under Labour or back the cuts in energy bills our policies are now making happen. Labour and the Leader of the Opposition flunked energy policy when they were in office. We must not ever let them do that again to Britain’s energy system.”
“Just today, in the latest collective switch—the Big Deal—we learned that customers on a typical standard tariff with a big six supplier could save £210 by switching to the new deal delivered for consumers who have come together to buy energy. That is a new deal from an independent energy supplier which entered the UK energy market only last year. That is competition working. We are always looking to do more for consumers, to sharpen competition and to explore new business models. That is our approach to helping people cut their bills. At the next election, the choice on energy bills will be clear.”
“People now understand the choices they have and are more confident about switching. We have acted to speed up switching too. Ofgem this week confirmed that switching times will be cut in half by the end of the year, from the ridiculous more than five weeks that we inherited, and that we are on course for my objective of 24-hour switching within four years. We have even acted to encourage new forms of switching. Labour talked about the collective principle, but never did anything about it. The Cheaper Energy Together firm is piloting initiatives around the country that have saved tens of thousands of people millions of pounds.”
“This Government have reformed the energy markets and boosted competition so that the big six—created by Labour—are now being challenged like never before. We have seen 12 new entrants into the market. The share of independent energy firms has risen from less than 1% to almost 6%—and fast. According to Energy UK, in May this year for the first time ever more than half of people switching switched to an independent supplier. Small suppliers have gained more than 1 million customers since May last year. The Government have worked to help all consumers. We have been harder and more effective in working for consumers in just four years than Labour managed in 13. We have championed switching, acting to make it simpler, with fewer confusing tariffs and easier to read bills—all things that Labour never did.”
“The House can probably see why I made that choice— [ Interruption. ] Frit? That is a joke. The forward markets help competition, smooth prices for customers and make fixed-price deals possible. Under Labour’s proposals, there would be no more fixed-price deals for consumers—ironically, the area in which competition between companies is greatest. The plain truth is that this latest headline-grabbing, price-control state intervention is as unworkable and damaging as Labour’s last one. Just like under the last Labour Government, such policies would simply mess up our energy markets and hit consumers hard. Labour reduced competition and created the big six. We have had the hard task of clearing up Labour’s energy mess.”
“There is nothing of which my colleagues and I are more proud than this coalition’s record on jobs: unemployment down in the last year alone by over 300,000 and employment up at record levels, increasing by over 720,000 last year alone.”
“To do the right thing for our country in the appalling circumstances in which we found ourselves in 2010 was always going to take courage and I am genuinely proud to serve a Deputy Prime Minister and a Prime Minister who have both had that courage even though both have experienced difficulties in our respective parties as a result. Let us look at where their courage has taken our country. Our economy is growing again; indeed, no other major economy grew faster in the last year. Our deficit is falling steadily, responsibly—not as fast as some people argued for, but at a pace that has kept interest rates low and enabled employment to rise.”
“Yesterday’s Gracious Speech marks another step in this coalition’s work to secure Britain’s economic recovery. With the infrastructure Bill, the small business Bill and the Childcare Payments Bill, this Queen’s Speech continues the central purpose of this coalition—not just to rebuild the shattered economy we inherited, but to promote a new economy with sustainable growth and employment for all, so the British people can enjoy a stronger economy and a fairer society. The coalition’s long-term economic plan is all about raising living standards for everyone in our country, but to do that we have to tackle the country’s economic problems head-on. We cannot duck the difficult decisions even when they come at a political price.”
“Renewable electricity has more than doubled under this Government. The situation we inherited from the last Government was that we were at the bottom of the European league—no, I should correct the record: we were above Malta and Luxembourg—but now our position has improved significantly. I would have thought the hon. Gentleman would have welcomed that. We have put in place an excellent regime for investment in renewables and all low-carbons. The Ernst and Young report he refers to shows us to be the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind and tidal energy, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Secretary and I are very proud of the fact that we have increased onshore wind so substantially and that there is such a healthy pipeline of future investment in it.”
“I simply do not recognise those claims. We have been doing a huge amount to tackle child poverty. The increase in the child care tax credit in the very first Budget was a major help for low-income families with children, so the hon. Gentleman should take that back.”
“Our record not just of implementing this fairest of tax cuts, but doing more than we promised is helping more than 26 million people. It has taken 3.2 million low paid out of income tax and it has cut the income tax bill of a double-earning couple on average earnings by £1,600 a year. This Liberal-Democrat-turned-coalition policy has cut the number of low-income people paying income tax more in five years than any other Government have achieved in the same period since records began.”
“But let us remind ourselves what happened: a huge £113 billion was wiped off our economy in the great financial crash of 2008, and there was a £3,000 cost to every household in the United Kingdom. To put that right, and to keep employment rising, it was arithmetically inevitable that living standards could not rise in the turnaround period for our economy, but now we really are in recovery. Now it is not just employment that is rising—it is living standards too. How has that happened? Of course, it has been because of the coalition’s long-term economic plan. Key aspects of that plan are really beginning to help, above all the implementation of the Liberal Democrat manifesto policy to increase the tax-free allowance to £10,000 a year.”
“I presume that everyone in this House accepts that the key measure of the cost of living remains the inflation figures. So if the cost of living is the measure by which to judge this coalition, let us see what has been happening to inflation. Inflation is lower than when the previous Government left office and it is falling. I have to confess to the House that the Bank of England’s inflation target is not being hit—inflation is lower than the target. In March, inflation had slowed to just 1.6%. Of course for our constituents it is real incomes and real wages that actually matter: what people have to spend after tax and after inflation. Looking at things in that way, it is true that after the 2008 recession many people saw living standards fall.”
“Many commentators thought we should cut the deficit faster, but we have taken a very responsible approach, to ensure not only that interest rates were kept low—that has been so vital for many families and the hon. Lady’s constituents—but that employment has risen so well. I would have thought she would be welcoming that. The problem is that the Opposition used to criticise the coalition on unemployment—they used to say that unemployment was going to go up—but when the facts showed they were wrong and that unemployment has gone down they have had to change their economic argument. The Opposition keep changing the economic argument because they keep losing the economic argument. Let us examine their recent economic argument on the cost of living.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right to make that point: competition, not Government intervention, is the best way of getting prices down and helping people with their living standards.”
“I am afraid that the hon. Lady is completely wrong. Higher rate taxpayers did not get the allowance increase. This is one of the fairest tax cuts, because it is focused on the low-paid and people on moderate incomes. I must say that she does not understand how the tax system works.”
“Just look at what has been done to help people with their energy bills: Ofgem’s reforms are making bills simpler and forcing firms to put consumers on the cheapest tariffs; switching rates are increasing, with switching speeds getting faster; and Government action is taking £50 off the average energy bill. Where the Opposition wanted to legislate for a freeze, with all the impact such regulatory intervention would have on investor confidence, the coalition has worked to ensure that the Government and competition are delivering something better than a freeze. Scottish and Southern Energy, British Gas, npower, Scottish Power and EDF have all announced that they will not increase energy prices this year unless network costs go up or wholesale energy costs rise, and of course they are not.”
“Of course, bills have also risen in this Parliament, but by 8% a year, compared with 11% a year in the previous Parliament. Labour did act to reform the energy markets; they managed the great feat of reducing the number of energy market firms and creating the big six. In other words, they made it worse and created another mess for us to clear up. This coalition is really reforming the energy market and taking on the energy companies. From day one, we began reforming the market to create real competition, with new competitors. Twelve new independent suppliers have entered the market since 2010, and independents are topping the best-buy tables, increasing their market share from less than 1% to 5% and rising, giving people a real chance not only to freeze their bills, but to cut them.”
“Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government will, I am sure, take on the housing costs debate. I am sure that he will cover not only our record of low mortgage rates, but our record and our plans to build more houses to reduce housing costs. However, I want to deal with energy costs, because, unlike the previous Government, we have acted on energy bills. We have taken on the energy companies, unlike the Leader of the Opposition when he was doing my job, when he could have acted but did not. It is interesting to look at the record on energy bills. In almost every year under Labour, energy bills rose: in 2005 they went up by 12%; in 2006 they went up by 20%; and in 2008 they went up by 16%. In the previous Parliament, under Labour, energy bills rose by a whopping 63%, and Labour did nothing. Yet they lecture us.”
“Everyone knows that in some parts of the country people are yet to feel the turnaround, and that was always inevitable. Many people are only now beginning to experience the end of the post-recession squeeze. I think that what is worrying the Labour party is that in 10 months’ time many more people will be feeling the benefits of the recovery and Labour’s latest economic argument on the cost of living will look ever hollower. Of course, last summer the Opposition already began to switch their economic argument again. It was not the general cost of living or general inflation that they were talking about, or the full basket of goods that people buy; it was a few specific ones. That is why we have today’s debate on energy and housing costs. They are very important issues, and my right hon.”
“The hon. Gentleman has been a champion in the debate on housing in London for many years. I do not think that he can point to any halcyon days over the past 30 years. The cost of housing was the biggest issue when I became an MP in 1997, and for many of my constituents it remains the biggest issue. There have been changes, but many of the housing benefit changes that we have made have actually hit the landlords, not the tenants. I think that he ought to welcome that. I am very proud of our record of helping people on low incomes, and not only the personal tax allowance increases, but the rest of our help with the cost of living—fuel duty freezes, council tax freezes, free school meals and help with child care. The coalition has listened and is helping. Of course, all those measures take time to feed through.”
“SSE has committed itself to a price freeze. The hon. Lady is right that the recent falls in wholesale gas prices suggest that consumers should benefit too. Unlike the previous Government, we have supported the regulator Ofgem in its proposal for the first ever referral of the energy markets to the independent competition authorities. The Leader of the Opposition talks about energy markets, but when he had the power to act, when he could have taken on the big six, and when he was doing my job, he did nothing. He refused three times to back an independent investigation of the energy markets, even though energy bills were rising faster than they are now. He let the energy companies off the hook and the party knows it.”
“My hon. Friends may well be in Newark, but I have the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol West (Stephen Williams), here with me. It is interesting that that is the only point that the Opposition can make. I give way to the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner). He may well have a point of substance.”
“We want feedback and input, because that will help us to refine our proposals, to develop alternative ones or even to convince us that the existing system is fit for purpose. We will listen during the consultation and, subject to its outcome, we will introduce proposals when parliamentary time allows.”
“Although both industries are still in their infancy, they are both concerned that the existing legal situation could delay or even stop their ability to drill horizontally deep underground to recover gas or heat. Ironically, given the urgency of climate change and unlike the situation for dirty coal—a landowner or property owner high above a coal seam cannot object and delay work—for cleaner gas and clean heat, landowners and property owners can object. To assist the shale gas and geothermal industries, we are consulting on how to address those access issues. We published our consultation paper on 23 May, and the consultation will run for the full 12 weeks. Members of the House may respond to that consultation, as may all interested parties.”
“In spite of rising and indeed record levels of investment in the North sea under the coalition, figures show declining production and exploration, which should worry us all. Gas imports have been rising for some time already and if we do not act to improve conditions in the North sea, our dependency on imported gas could reach worrying levels. As we implement the Wood recommendations, specifically to enable a new arm’s length regulator, I hope that we will get support from all parts of the House. In order to ensure that the UK can benefit even more from its home-grown energy, we will introduce a final set of measures, subject to consultation, so that Britain can be more secure and reduce our reliance on imports and on coal. The measures are to support the development of the shale gas and geothermal industries.”
“I hope that the measure will receive support from all parties. Other key energy measures in the infrastructure Bill involve the implementation of the review that I commissioned into the future of Britain’s North sea assets, conducted so brilliantly by Sir Ian Wood. Given recent events in Crimea and Ukraine, we know more than ever that secure supplies of gas are vital to our economy, but cannot be taken for granted. As we cut our carbon emissions, with our dramatic shift out of coal over the next decade, we know that the replacement electricity must involve low-carbon electricity from renewables and nuclear and lower carbon electricity from gas. Our energy security and climate change objectives require gas, so we must conclude that our North sea oil and gas assets are at least as important now as they have always been.”
“One of the key aims of the strategy is to see greater community involvement and ownership of local renewable energy projects. We hope and believe that that will come about through voluntary agreement. A taskforce of industry and community energy specialists is already working out how a win-win can be achieved, with investors gaining greater public support and additional capital investment, and with communities receiving greater benefits and a greater stake. Since we are pursuing a voluntary approach, the power in the Bill is a back-stop. The community energy sector was clear that the voluntary approach should be given a chance to succeed, and I agree. By legislating as proposed, we can send the strongest signal that Government and Parliament want to see both community energy and local shared ownership of renewable energy succeed.”
“The switching choices will be simpler, easier and quicker than ever before. In this Session’s legislative programme, my Department will be putting forward a number of measures in the infrastructure Bill. First, I draw the House’s attention to our plans to introduce a community electricity right. Communities will be offered the chance to buy a stake in a new commercial renewable electricity scheme in their area. Community energy can play an increasingly important role in our energy mix, not least as we increase renewable energy in the UK. When I published Britain’s first ever community energy strategy earlier this year, we showed how greater involvement by communities could significantly support our goals of decarbonising the power sector, increasing energy security, reducing bills and helping the fuel poor.”
“The hon. Gentleman is mixing up two things. The reforms to which he referred created the big six. There was a consolidation in the markets as a result of those reforms. What is helping competition is the ability to switch. What we have been doing is making that easier, simpler and faster, and that is the right thing to do. I am proud that we now have—or will shortly have when it is confirmed by Ofgem—a full-scale market investigation. The large energy companies will need to think very carefully about their pricing decisions. If they do not pass on falling wholesale costs, the competition authorities and, more importantly, their competitors will be very interested. This autumn, I intend to ensure that British people know that if their energy supplier hikes up their prices, they will have a real choice to switch firms and cut their bills.”
“I am not sure whether the Prime Minister said that in those terms. There will be local community engagement in issues about fracking, not least through the planning process. There will be local involvement, because a company has to get a series of permits and regulatory permissions before it may even start an exploratory drill, which should give the hon. Lady’s constituents and other people the reassurances that they need.”
“We have already put in place a package of attractive community benefits and as we proceed with the consultation, the hon. Gentleman might want to respond to it. There is talk of further community benefits, but let us be clear what we are talking about. We are talking about drilling at least 300 metres under a piece of land or property, far more than for the underground, the channel tunnel and all those other major pieces of infrastructure. Most shale and geothermals are at least one mile below the service and I think that landowners will be quite pleased to get compensation for that, because it will not affect their land or properties.”
“The green growth group that I established in Europe 16 months ago has helped to lead that critical debate and a key task for the next five months up to the October European Council is to secure the deal Britain has helped to create. If we achieve that deal in October, Europe can then help to lead the rest of the world as we prepare for the critical climate change summit in Paris in December 2015, working with the United States of America after President Obama’s magnificent announcement this week on regulating coal plants. The Government are delivering on growth and on green growth, on jobs and on green jobs. We have pulled our economy from the abyss and towards a sustainable, affordable future.”
“Time has not allowed me to update the House on many aspects of our work that feed into the Bill and the Gracious Speech, most notably on our massive work on the international climate change debate. As the Gracious Speech says, Ministers will “champion efforts to secure a global agreement on climate change.” I can report to the House that Britain is leading in Europe, persuading European colleagues to go further and to adopt more ambitious climate change targets, just as this Parliament has done, and persuading European colleagues to agree to radical reforms of Europe’s carbon market, which is so crucial in encouraging investment in renewables, energy efficiency, nuclear and carbon capture and storage.”
“First, we have a strong regulatory regime for water, overseen by the Environment Agency. Before people can take water from water courses or put things beneath the ground, they have to get a permit. More than that, if we consider what is happening within industry processes and with some of the research and development that is going on in this area, we can see that the push for what are called “green completions” in the fracking industry is very strong. We are seeing companies minimise their use of water compared with the early years in the United States because it is in their interests and will reduce the amount of vehicle movement. This is a serious issue and I take it seriously. As I hope the hon. Gentleman can see, I have looked into it in some detail and we will continue to monitor that carefully.”
“From day one of the coalition we have worked to improve competition in energy markets. Deregulation stimulated growth in the number and size of small independent suppliers, competing with the big six we inherited, and we have taken action to encourage switching, including easier switching, faster switching and collective switching. Ofgem’s retail market reforms and market maker obligation are also improving competition in both wholesale and retail markets. However, because we believe more should be done, I asked Ofgem and the competition authorities to make an annual assessment and last week we backed its proposal for a market investigation reference.”
“What we need to do in these matters is to go on the evidence and recommendations of the competition experts. I would not prejudge the market reference—let us see what it says—and I am glad the hon. Lady welcomes that, but one of the things the Opposition have failed to recognise is that there may be problems in the gas market, where there is not vertical integration. The Opposition have been completely silent on this matter, and I am not surprised as I am afraid their competition policies in this area have been appalling.”
“I think the hon. Lady ought to talk to the leader of her party because when he was doing my job he said, after many years of increases in gas and electricity prices that were higher and faster than they have been under this Government: “As I have said before in the House, I am not in favour of referring these matters to the Competition Commission.” —[ Official Report , 25 February 2010; Vol. 506, c. 444.] When the Leader of the Opposition had the chance to take this measure, he did not.”
“Some Labour Members are suffering from amnesia. It was the Labour party that created the big six. It was this coalition that deregulated to enable new independent suppliers to come into the market—11 new suppliers coming in since 2010, and there has been a big increase in the number of customers for the smaller suppliers, who are taking on the big six. It is this party and this coalition Government who have been the force behind competition, while Labour Members are the friends of the big six.”
“It is always interesting to hear about this because when the Leader of the Opposition talks about an energy price freeze, he is not absolutely clear that it will go ahead. When he was on the “Today” programme in September 2013, he was asked what would happen if wholesale prices were to rise, and he admitted that the price freeze might not go ahead, which is not something that the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) is prepared to admit. I have to say that we need to read the small print of this price freeze because it might not happen. It is a con.”
“We have acted, we are acting and we will continue to act on behalf of customers. The last Government failed to do so.”
“We have been reforming the energy markets since day one, but we were not happy enough with the results and we wanted to do more, because of the mess we had inherited. That is why we asked the competition authorities to look at this matter. They have proposed a market investigation reference, and we are completely behind that. Neither we nor Ofgem are going to stand still during that 18 months, however. We are going to be working on trying to improve the markets even before the market investigation reference reports. We are being really active on reducing switching times, for example. We also want to push the smart meter roll-out programme, which will help people, and the Ofgem retail market review will complete and implement its proposals, including taking customers off dead tariffs.”
“Price controls were taken off this sector in 2002, so Ofgem does not have the power to control prices. Hon. Members should remind themselves that it was the Labour party that took the price controls off. We want to ensure that the regulatory framework and the policies are correct. That is one of the reasons we are pushing the policies that we have adopted. It is also interesting to remind colleagues of the record of the Labour party and its leader. When he was doing my job in 2009, the right hon. Gentleman talked about reforming Ofgem, saying that “the regulator needs stronger powers to deal with abuse, and the Bill will specifically act to prevent the exploitation of market power by energy generators.” —[ Official Report , 24 November 2009; Vol. 501, c. 412.] What went wrong with Labour’s plans when it was in government?”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We need to see a big investment in the skills and expertise of our young people, as well as in the existing work force. This is a great opportunity, given the massive investment taking place in our energy sector, and we are going to need all the young people that the skills centre in his constituency can deliver.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that question; that is exactly what we did in 2010. Since then, we have seen a boom in the number and size of independent suppliers taking on the big six that Labour created. As Ofgem and the competition authorities’ assessment makes clear, however, we need to see more progress. That is why I am strongly behind the market investigation reference.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and this point is not discussed enough. When we talk to the industry, and to investors in the UK and internationally, they tell us that one of the things they fear most from Labour’s price freeze is that it would prevent them from going ahead with the investments that they want to make. A price freeze would undermine investment; it would represent a lurch back to the ’70s. Let us look around Europe to see what has happened when price freezes have been implemented. Hungary implemented a price freeze—indeed, a price cut—recently, and investment there has plummeted. All that is needed is a grasp of standard economics, but the Labour party does not appear to have even that.”
“The energy Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), has been working tirelessly on this matter with our officials. I hope the Opposition will recognise the huge efforts that officials in my Department, under his leadership, have been putting into it. We have been talking to all parties, including the Commission, to make sure that interpretations are based on the law, and we will do whatever we can to help.”
“My hon. Friend makes a good point. One aim of the retail market review put forward by Ofgem was to reduce the complexity and confusion in the amount of tariffs, which many people thought was a barrier to competition and switching—the previous Government refused to do this. But I do not think we can rest there, and one reason I have been so supportive of things such as collective switching and engaging with the third sector—Age Concern, Citizens Advice and National Energy Action—to develop the big energy saving network is to ensure that we are reaching out to those people who find switching, even when the tariffs are more simplified, a difficult process and a hassle. We are doing everything we can to make sure that the benefits of switching and competition can be enjoyed by all.”
“We are working tirelessly on this. We have to make sure that we get a solution that all parties can sign up to, that provides value for money and that will actually work. We are trying our best, but the hon. Gentleman should know that there are genuine economic and geological issues, and other difficulties, involved. My right hon. Friend the energy Minister is trying to resolve this, working with everybody involved.”