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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“It is right that the hon. Gentleman mentions the late Member of this House, Malcolm Wicks. He was respected on both sides of the House. I believe that he was an Energy Minister twice. He was respected by officials in the Department who worked with him. He played a role in this policy and it is right to mention him. The hon. Gentleman also asked whether I would publish a new plan. We already have a lot of plans involving a lot of nuclear power stations. I do not want to anticipate what will come next quite yet, but we are on the way.”
“I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question, and he is right to say there is a lot of international interest, as I saw on recent trips to Korea, Japan and China. Right hon. and hon. Members will also know about interest not only from France, but from north America, including Canada, and Russia. I am not sure, however, that that international interest all depends on National Grid because I think a lot of the work depends on my Department and the Government. National Grid has a critical role, but the negotiations were done by my Department.”
“The hon. Lady demeans herself because she knows I did not say that on “Newsnight” recently. More importantly, she is not taking responsibility and neither is the Labour party. She may not know this, but this is the first time the Liberal Democrat party, or its predecessor, has been in power in peacetime for about 90 years, so blaming my party for not delivering on nuclear power takes some cheek.”
“The hon. Gentleman is a doughty champion of Dungeness, and it may have a role to play in the future. I cannot see beyond current plans, but perhaps some of the new technology we have heard about could be part of such a role, although he knows I cannot commit to that today.”
“We are responsible, and we are sorting out the cartels that we inherited from the previous Government. The big six were created by the Labour party’s failed reforms of the electricity market, but because we have been deregulating and improving competition, the hon. Gentleman’s constituents have more choice. He does his constituents a disservice if he does not explain that they no longer have to stick slavishly to the big six, and that there are 15 independent suppliers. I thought he would want to help his constituents by recommending that they shop around.”
“My hon. Friend is right to say that the market reforms that the coalition Government have championed are already bearing fruit. He points to the fact that renewable energy has doubled under this Government, and that we are seeing a push forward on carbon capture and storage and now nuclear. I must say, however, that he played an important role in all of that.”
“The hon. Gentleman is wrong on every count. We are fixing the broken market we inherited because we have a lot more competitors, not just in supply and retail, but in wholesale. A lot more independent generators have been coming in, which he should welcome. The idea that all change has stopped—we are the Government changing the electricity market— [ Interruption. ] He asks about risk, but the risks have been transferred to EDF, not the consumer.”
“It is absurd for the hon. Gentleman to shake his head. This is the first deal, I think probably in the world, in which we have managed to prevent the consumer from taking on any construction risk. He ought to welcome that.”
“My hon. Friend makes an important point. The cost of decommissioning is one reason I was concerned about nuclear power in the past. As I have told the House, two thirds of my Department’s budget is spent on decommissioning past nuclear power stations. It was a scandal that we had to clean up the mess of previous Governments who failed to tackle decommissioning costs. That is why this deal is so different from what has gone before. The decommissioning costs are included in the strike price we announced. EDF and its partners must provide, from day one of generation, for a funded decommissioning plan, which will be independently overseen. I can therefore tell my hon. Friend that we have made a big step forward in dealing with decommissioning.”
“The hon. Gentleman is not as well informed as he might be on EDF contracts. For example, it has a contract in China, where, with the Chinese, it is building a nuclear power plant at Taishan. That is on budget and on time. I tell him gently that EDF has a huge amount of experience and is a good partner for the UK. Unlike the deals he mentions, we have ensured that the consumer is protected from construction cost overruns. He ought to welcome that.”
“I have not heard questions on that at Department of Energy and Climate Change oral questions. Perhaps I will in future, but the evidence—the lights have stayed on—suggests that people should not worry.”
“My hon. Friend is aware that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Government to ensure that we can work together more in the area of civil nuclear power. That means Chinese companies investing in the UK and British investors and companies investing in China. I will not say that the markets will open overnight—that would be unrealistic—but we are moving into a new era in which we can work with the Chinese and other foreign states. One odd thing about the debate is that a Hong Kong Chinese company owns UK Power Networks, which owns three of our district network operating companies, including London. So the electricity supplies to London—the cables and the networks—are owned by a Chinese company.”
“There is already a lot of decommissioning expertise in this country because we are spending so much money on it. We have a lot of technology in that area. If we build those costs into the strike price early on— [ Interruption. ] If the hon. Gentleman listens, I will answer his question. We can do it for £2 early on, from day one of generation, because we are putting money aside over a 60-year period of generating. I believe the funded decommissioning plan lasts for 40 years— [ Interruption. ] I am getting nods, so I must be right. However, the plant is expected to generate electricity for 60 years. It is rather like a pension fund. If we make sensible provision early on, the costs can be kept very low.”
“Yes, we envisage a series of new nuclear power stations being built. I and other members of the Government have, on various trips, engaged in commercial diplomacy, meeting potential investors and nuclear companies in other countries, and there is huge interest in the nuclear market. When German companies RWE and E.ON put the Horizon consortium on the market everyone said, “This is a disaster. It shows that nuclear policy isn’t working.” Far from it. We had huge interest from around the world. Hitachi ended up paying nearly £700 million for the privilege of having the consortium, even before it had got its reactor design through the generic design assessment. That is the level of interest and the vote of confidence in our policy.”
“The detail of transmission infrastructure is sorted out by National Grid under legislation passed some time ago. In many areas, particularly in areas of rural beauty, people want more undergrounding of cables. The hon. Gentleman will know that that can be expensive. There are a number of inquiries at the moment, not least in Wales, and it would be inappropriate for me to comment on them.”
“We will of course be publishing a lot of these details, but I have to say to my hon. Friend that, given the experience in Japan and Germany, it is not unreasonable for a company wanting to invest in nuclear to have some protection against a future Government changing the policy completely. I think that if he was a shareholder of a company wanting to invest in UK nuclear, he would be looking for that sort of protection too. In many ways, I regret that we have had to give that protection, but it was a reasonable request and I think it would have been a show-stopper if we had not been able to meet it.”
“We have started that process by our announcement today. I am not sure what strike price the hon. Lady and the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex) mentioned in the Bill Committee proceedings, but few people thought we would achieve the strike price we did. What she fails to mention is that because we have gone through the investment contract—the contract for difference—we have protected the consumer yet again. If the wholesale price is above the strike price, the generators have to pay back to the consumer—yet another protection for the consumer.”
“I can reassure my right hon. Friend, who championed the case for Wylfa when she was Secretary of State for Wales, that we are on the case. I know that Hitachi, is keen to make progress on that, and it and others will be cheered by today’s announcement. They know that the Government are leading the way, taking the tough decisions and developing the most attractive market in the world for new nuclear.”
“That is a fair question. I mentioned three figures on jobs: over the lifetime of construction, we expect 25,000 jobs to be created; at peak, on site, there will be 5,600; and when the plant is finished and starts generating at full capacity, we expect there to be 900 full-time permanent jobs. They are different figures, but they are also very impressive figures. I am afraid we have not done the analysis on how many of those jobs will be done by UK passport holders, but we expect a lot of them to be British. One reason EDF is investing in the local college is to bring on apprentices and young people in the area so that they can be the trained nuclear engineers of the future, working at Hinkley Point C and beyond.”
“My hon. Friend is right that diversity is critical if we are to keep prices down. I am obsessed with ensuring that we get a good deal for the consumer and British industry, and part of that strategy is to ensure we have diversity, so that technologies and companies are competing and we are also applying downward pressure on prices.”
“The hon. Gentleman was doing so well. I have to tell him that there are zealots on all sides of this argument, as I have found, which is why I take, I think, a more balanced, pragmatic approach in favour of a mixed, diversified electricity supply focused on low carbon. I am a zealot not about nuclear, onshore or any particular renewable technology; I am a zealot about climate change. That is what every Member needs to be a zealot about. Climate change is one of the big challenges for this political generation, and we have to face up to it, so I plead guilty to being a zealot about tackling climate change.”
“It is not a humiliation, but a big triumph, actually, that many other countries want to put their money into the UK market to build nuclear. I hope the hon. Gentleman is moving from mild to enthusiastic support and that my earlier point to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas)—that the National Audit Office will look at this—reassures him that the details will be properly scrutinised both in this House and by the NAO.”
“It is obviously not going to commit to that yet, but it is now focusing on that matter more than it was before.”
“I know that EDF wants to pursue that matter, but my hon. Friend will not be surprised to learn that it has been focusing on Hinkley Point C. We are now entering the final stages of the negotiations and we hope to secure the final investment contract next year, at which point I think EDF will turn more towards the question of the Sizewell C opportunity. He will know that, because the European pressurised reactor has gone through the generic design assessment process for Hinkley Point C, it will not have to do so again for Sizewell C. That should shorten the period involved. EDF is hoping to be in a position, after obtaining consents from us, regulatory approvals and so on, to make a final investment decision on Sizewell C towards the end of this decade.”
“I think the hon. Gentleman is talking about the fact that a lot of the products we import come from countries with high carbon intensity production processes. It might be a little harsh to describe this as a failure of my policy, but I know that the Select Committee and the Committee on Climate Change are interested in looking at that issue, and they should do so. In fact, this simply shows that we need a global treaty on climate change. One country cannot tackle it alone. We live in an interdependent world that has an interdependent economy and an interdependent climate. That is the answer for the hon. Gentleman: he needs to get behind the push for a global treaty on climate change.”
“I very much share that vision. It was certainly the vision that the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I published in our industrial strategy. We want to ensure that British companies and British people get the benefit as we move towards more low-carbon technologies. That is why we have also published an industrial strategy for offshore wind.”
“I believe it is, and the investors certainly do as well. One of the things that gives me confidence about today’s decision is the high degree of planning that has gone into the project. We will benefit from the fact that the reactor design has already gone through a long period of generic design assessment in the Office for Nuclear Regulation, and that EDF has learned lessons from Finland, France and China. My hon. Friend should therefore not worry that the supply chain will not be capable of meeting the demands. This is all in EDF’s plan.”
“Of course the Government have considered the national security implications; we looked at them in some detail. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and, indeed, others have looked at cyber-security as a whole to make sure that this country is protected, not just from potential investors in the UK but more broadly. I believe that this Government have put in place the sort of protections that I think my hon. Friend is seeking.”
“I do not believe there is a risk, but that is no credit to the Labour party. It has happened because this Government have got their act together on energy security in the short term, the medium term and the long term. Today’s announcement will help energy security in the long term, but we had two announcements in July—one from Ofgem and the National Grid to look at the short term and make sure that we have the balancing extra reserves ready to come on line at the peak; and then my Department’s announcement on next year’s capacity market, which was about ensuring capacity in the medium term. If we put the short-term, medium-term and long-term strategy together, I can reassure my hon. Friend that the lights will stay on.”
“A huge amount is being done. EDF is investing in the local college to make sure that some local people get to benefit from Hinkley Point C. We also have the national skills academy for nuclear, which is taking forward skills for the wider industry. Many of our universities are more engaged in research and development, too. If my hon. Friend looks at the industrial strategy that we launched, to which I have referred several times, he will see that there is a big role in it for developing skills.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to group this question with several others. I am taking many steps to help, which come under three broad categories—”
“As always, I am very grateful for your advice, Mr Speaker, as I am sure the House is, too. I will start again. I am taking many steps to help households with their energy bills. Those steps come under three broad categories: first, direct help for millions of people, with money off their bills and money to help to pay their bills, through the warm home discount, winter fuel payments and cold weather payments; secondly, energy efficiency, to help people to cut their bills by wasting less energy, through the energy company obligation, the green deal and smart meters; and thirdly, competition. I am intervening to make electricity and gas markets in the UK ever more competitive, so that energy companies cannot exploit people through market power.”
“Of course I am disappointed by energy companies that are putting up their prices. The key thing is competition, and we in this Government have pushed competition hard. The big six were the creation of the last Government, when we saw the number of companies reduced. Under this Government, competition is increasing. I would urge people who are disappointed by increases from their energy company to shop around and switch, because there are some very good deals out there.”
“The hon. Lady was obviously not at Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, because the Prime Minister called it a con, and he is right. Labour’s energy price freeze is a con. Let me explain to the Opposition why it is a con, because when people see a politician promising something for nothing, they do not believe them. The policy cannot control prices before Labour’s price freeze and it cannot control prices after it, so energy companies are likely to hike prices before and after. Consumers will be worse off as a result of such a measure.”
“We are on the side of the consumer, because we are promoting competition. The hon. Gentleman and his party, through their price freeze, will hurt competition. Let me explain it to him. Whereas we have seen companies entering the market under this Government, a price freeze would hurt small suppliers. If he doubts my word, he should listen to the small suppliers themselves. Nigel Cornwall, of the Energy Suppliers Forum, says that Labour’s policy “ignores real progress made in increasing competition in the market over recent years”. Small suppliers do not like Labour’s policy because they know it would hurt consumers.”
“My hon. Friend raises an interesting question. Almost all aspects of the energy company obligation are working well, but the rural sub-obligation—the bit he is referring to—is not working so well, and we are looking at how it can be improved.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Energy Bill and electricity market reform do just that. He may be interested to know that we have today asked the Leader of the Opposition 10 questions about Labour’s policy. If we look at it, we not only find that it is a con that will reduce competition and hurt the small suppliers, but that it will hurt investment, too, which is needed to keep energy security and to decarbonise. Labour’s policy is economically illiterate.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. When big energy companies make these high price rises, I would urge all their customers to look at the competition available. There is a lot of choice out there. In fact, there is far more choice than there has been for a long time—possibly ever. The last Government killed choice and reduced competition; under this Government, we have seen a big increase.”
“We will help customers to get the best deals. The right hon. Lady knows that. She knows that on the current market, customers can get much better deals than those offered by the big six. She knows that the number of small suppliers has increased. She knows that in 2011 there were no independent suppliers with more than 50,000 customers. Thanks to our policies, there are now three with more than 100,000 and a further seven companies have entered the market in the last two years. That is the choice; that is the solution: people can cut their bills significantly by changing supplier.”
“Millions are seeing benefits from our policy of competition. The right hon. Lady has made a very interesting point today. In response to our charge that Labour’s policy is a con, because energy companies could push up bills beforehand and after, she said that Labour would take action if they do. Does that mean that she is going to introduce full price regulation? Is Labour now promising that, because that is the implication of what she said?”
“I keep the competitiveness of the UK energy market under constant review and have acted to make it more competitive. In retail markets, where companies are supplying customers, we have acted by deregulating to increase the number of suppliers and by reforming bills and tariffs. In wholesale markets, where companies are selling power they are generating to suppliers, Ofgem measures and measures in the Energy Bill will boost competition and market access for independent generators across the UK.”
“We are intervening, because the market we inherited from the previous Government was not as competitive as it should have been. Before Labour’s previous energy market reforms, there were three generators and 14 suppliers—17 companies—but after those reforms the number went down to six, so Labour reduced competition. Labour is the party of the big six. This coalition Government have acted to make sure that we have competition to take on the big six, so the hon. Lady should speak to her Front Benchers because Labour is the party of non-competitive energy markets—the party of the big six—whereas our coalition Government are taking on the big six.”
“I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s question. I hope he will be reassured by the fact that I have spoken personally both to key Unite trade union leaders and to Ineos. We persuaded them to go into ACAS talks. I regret that those talks have broken down, but I urge both parties to resume them and try to resolve this situation without industrial dispute. May I take this opportunity to say that, working with the Scottish Government and industry, we have done everything we can to make sure that if there is a dispute, the fuel will flow through Scotland’s economy?”
“No, we will not, because we have got a much better policy. Working with Ofgem and in the Energy Bill, as the hon. Gentleman ought to know now, we are tackling the real problem in the wholesale market—a problem that the previous Labour Government completely failed to deal with. Interestingly, Labour’s new policy reverses the policy that Labour implemented in government —talk about confused; never have an Opposition been so confused in their policies.”
“The licence holder, Cuadrilla, has drilled a well, including a horizontal section, in accordance with the planning permission granted by West Sussex county council, to explore for oil. Apart from the scrutiny by the planning authority, the proposals were subject to scrutiny by the Environment Agency, the Health and Safety Executive and my Department to ensure that the operations are safe and that the environment is protected.”
“My right hon. Friend will know that I have spoken to our right hon. Friend about that. We have also ensured that the regulatory regime applying not just to west Sussex but across the country is as tough as any regulatory regime anywhere in the world and we keep it under review to ensure that it remains that tough. He might be interested to learn that the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), as Energy Minister, will meet west Sussex MPs next week to discuss the issue.”
“Since the last Energy and Climate Change questions we have been busy. The Energy Bill is continuing its progress through Parliament and we hope that it will achieve Royal Assent by the end of the year. That will help deliver the modernised infrastructure and cleaner energy that the country needs to meet our energy security requirements and climate change obligations. The House might be interested to know the latest figures we have on investment: we have seen at least £35 billion invested in increased electricity infrastructure alone since 2010, a 56% year-on-year increase in renewable energy investment and a doubling of renewable electricity generation under this Government. Also, our policies to help the fuel poor are in place for the winter. [Official Report, 1 November 2013, Vol. 569, c. 7MC.]”
“I speak to E.ON and other energy suppliers and generators frequently. We are looking at the tariff reforms to make sure that they deliver the competitive markets that Ofgem believes they will. We believe that a large number of people will be really benefited by these reforms.”
“My hon. Friend knows that we are a champion of low-carbon energy investment. I strongly welcome ShareAction’s campaign to promote responsible investment by pension funds and fund managers. People who operate these pension funds should think long term, and there is no longer-term problem and challenge for the people they are investing for than climate change.”
“First, that is extremely disappointing news for British Gas customers. British Gas will need to justify its decision openly and transparently to bill-payers. British Gas was the only energy company not to meet its targets under the previous obligation to make its customers’ homes more energy-efficient. That left more homes cold and its customers paying over the odds. British Gas has form in failing to meet its targets, the last of which was set by Labour. I hope that the right hon. Lady will join me in making sure that British Gas is more transparent about its costs. We are pushing competition, and I urge British Gas customers who are unhappy to change their supplier.”