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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“At this early stage in the investigation, it is not possible to understand what the impact on consumers, companies or markets might have been, if the allegations are proven to be true, but I can assure the House of our absolute determination to clamp down on any abuse that is uncovered, wherever it might be and by whomsoever it might have been committed. It is my job to protect consumers, not least the most vulnerable, who can suffer the most when markets are abused. For now, it is right and proper to allow the independent market regulators to proceed with their investigations, with our full support, and I commit to updating the House when we learn more.”
“Those prohibitions on insider trading and market manipulation came into force in December 2011, which will ensure that regulatory bodies across the EU can tackle such abuse in wholesale energy markets. The UK was already aiming to be one of the first countries to implement REMIT in full, and the Government have been working with Ofgem over the past few months on the detailed implementation of these powers. In case the existing wide-ranging powers to tackle market abuse and these new REMIT powers are insufficient, however, I have written to the FSA, Ofgem and the OFT, asking them to identify any remaining gaps in their powers to deal with allegations of this sort.”
“For example, the Government acted swiftly to tackle the attempted manipulation of LIBOR and EURIBOR by implementing in full the recommendations of the Wheatley review, including the statutory regulation of benchmark activities. We also responded to Ofgem’s request that we extend its powers to tackle abuses that take advantage of network constraints. The Government have also undertaken a wholesale review of how competition law is applied in the UK, ensuring that it is fit for purpose and can tackle collusion and abuse of strong market dominance, and so protect consumers. The Government have also taken a leading role in the development of the EU regulations on wholesale energy markets integrity and transparency—often referred to as REMIT.”
“People should know that the powers exist to protect the identity of whistleblowers, although in this instance the individual concerned has chosen to forgo his anonymity. Ofgem and the FSA are market regulators, independent of Government and staffed by market experts. Together with the Office of Fair Trading, these organisations have a range of powers available to them, including the ability to act against the manipulation of financial markets, collusive activity and the abuse of strong market positions. The Government have a strong record of providing regulators with the powers they need to tackle market abuse. Where regulators and others have identified gaps in their powers, we have acted quickly to address them.”
“Ofgem has the lead responsibility for these physical markets, with the FSA leading on any associated financial market. Both regulators have already committed significant resources to doing this. I and my officials have been in close contact with both regulators over the weekend, and we continue to support them in their work in whatever way we can. It is early days but the FSA and Ofgem are examining the evidence they received. Given that this evidence may be used in criminal and/or civil proceedings, however, it is important not to pre-empt the work of the FSA and Ofgem or their conclusions. At this stage, we encourage any individuals or companies to act on any concerns they have and to bring forward any evidence of market manipulation.”
“My Department and the Treasury were informed on Friday afternoon that the Financial Services Authority had received allegations of manipulation of the UK gas market. As I said last night, I am extremely concerned about these allegations. Market abuse is always wrong, but, at a time when people and companies are struggling with high energy bills, the country would expect us to take firm action, if these allegations prove true, and we will. These allegations of market manipulation are being taken very seriously. We will support the regulators taking whatever steps necessary to ensure that the full force of the law is applied, if they are true, so that any guilty parties are held to account. In the first instance, the FSA and Ofgem will consider these allegations.”
“The right hon. Lady now invites me to support her proposal on Ofgem, but from my experience of working with Ofgem and the FSA over the weekend and this week, and of having my officials work with them and seeing them in action, I take completely the reverse point of view. She ought to withdraw her proposal and support the role of an independent regulator. Ofgem has extensive powers; we are adding to them. Ofgem has used those powers where it has felt it necessary. Disbanding Ofgem at the moment would not speed up the investigation or help consumers with their bills now, so I am afraid I am not tempted to take up that proposal from the right hon. Lady. It would be totally unacceptable if people were profiting from manipulating energy prices, so I believe the whole House should back these investigations.”
“It is our proposal to bring forward reserve powers in the energy Bill, in case Ofgem’s proposals on managing auctions—or whatever it ends up deciding on improving liquidity—do not work. However, we on the Government Benches are absolutely committed to extra liquidity and more transparency of pricing, because that will drive competition, which is clearly the best way forward. The right hon. Lady continues to suggest that the pool is the answer. These are early days, so it is certainly not clear that a pool would have helped with these offences. However, I remind her that it was the previous Government who abolished the electricity pool, partly because Labour Ministers considered it to be open to market manipulation and therefore detrimental to consumers—so her proposals for a pool are even less appealing as a result of these allegations.”
“Again, that will depend on the nature of the allegations as they are analysed, and whether there has been an abuse—a breach—of competition powers in some way. Ofgem has concurrent powers with the OFT, as the right hon. Lady knows, but the OFT has more experience in some areas, particularly in prosecuting cartel offences. However, these are early days and this is speculation. We do not yet know whether the OFT would be involved, but clearly it stands ready. The right hon. Lady then talked about the pool. She has concerns about the lack of transparency in energy prices, particularly electricity prices, which she and I debated in the last Opposition day debate on the issue. I explained that her proposals for a pool would not sort out the problem of liquidity.”
“It would have been quite wrong for me to come to the House before the whistleblower had made their statement. I hope she accepts that. We were ready to come to the House, but we were waiting for the information to enter the public domain in the proper way, and I have come to the House in the first instance after that. The right hon. Lady asked about Ofgem’s role. Ofgem is working jointly with the FSA and it is important that it does so, because we do not yet know, as it looks at the allegations, whether there has been a problem in the energy markets—the physical markets—or the financial markets. We do not know whether financial services regulations or other regulations will have to be used, so Ofgem is engaged, just as it should be, in working with its fellow regulators. The right hon. Lady asked whether the OFT would be involved.”
“I am grateful for the right hon. Lady’s response. Let me try to deal with all her questions. I understand that the FSA was approached by The Guardian and heard the information from the whistleblower last week. My understanding is that the FSA will follow the normal remit for any such investigation, considering whether an offence has been committed once it has looked at the allegations and reviewed the evidence. Of course, we cannot give detailed timing for that, and I am surprised that the right hon. Lady expects me to do so. That is a matter for the independent regulatory bodies, as they go about their process in the proper way. The right hon. Lady asked why I did not come to the House yesterday. The reason is that we have rules to protect whistleblowers.”
“It is because of people in fuel poverty that we should take such allegations as seriously as we are taking them, although I should say to my hon. Friend—no doubt I shall say this to other hon. Members—that these are early days. We do not want to speculate on the exact nature of the offence or on whether it has been detrimental to individual consumers or companies, so I would guard against jumping to conclusions. However, she will know that if detriment to consumers can be proven, there are powers in competition law for different types of redress.”
“The investigations will determine whether anyone has been involved in a racket. I will not prejudge those investigations, although the right hon. Gentleman seems to wish to do so. He is concerned about the role of people involved in hedging, but that can be quite important for a market, in that it can make it more liquid, which can reduce prices. I would counsel him against suggesting that we completely pull apart the liquidity of the gas market.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is completely wrong to jump to conclusions until the regulators—in this case, the FSA and Ofgem—have had a chance to do their work. I really cannot see that a massive reorganisation would help at the moment. We need to ensure that the regulators have the powers that they need to do their job, and we will ensure that that happens.”
“Gentleman is quite right to say that we must ensure that our domestic regulation and international regulation are able to tackle these issues.”
“I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his contribution. He is right to say that, if we find that the regulator needs more powers, we will act. I have made that absolutely clear. He is also right to mention the issues arising from the Wheatley review and the LIBOR issue. We need to ensure that the price reference agencies, the benchmarks and the indices that are used extensively in a variety of financial and commodity markets are properly considered in the reviews. Martin Wheatley has made a number of recommendations, the European Commission has produced a consultation paper on these matters and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions is looking into them, so there is international work being done. The right hon.”
“My hon. Friend is right; this is an excellent EU regulation, on which we have been leading the way and which we believe has a great role to play. The regulation might not be relevant to these allegations or to the particular abuse, if abuse is found. I do not want to prejudge the investigations by Ofgem and the FSA, but he is right to say that the coalition Government are taking action to stiffen regulation in this area.”
“Again, we should not speculate. We do not know whether an offence has been committed, and we do not know what the implications of any such offence might be for individual consumers, for companies or for markets. We must not jump to conclusions but, as I said to my hon. Friend the Member for St Albans (Mrs Main), if it turns out that there has been detriment to consumers, there are powers to give them redress under existing law.”
“That will depend on what the investigations find out. There are powers to take on individuals and companies that have committed wrong-doing. Depending on what the offence is shown to be—if an offence is indeed uncovered—there are civil and criminal penalties.”
“I am not aware of any such information. The first time I learned from the regulatory authorities about these allegations was on Friday afternoon, as I said in my statement. I have to say to the hon. Gentleman that this Government are taking a lot of action to help consumers with their electricity and gas bills, including through the warm home discount, which is helping 2 million of our most vulnerable citizens and taking £130 directly off the bills of 1 million of the lowest-income pensioners. We also have the green deal and the energy Bill, which will drive competition and ensure that we have competitive retail and wholesale energy markets.”
“I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. It is absolutely critical that markets are fair, because British consumers deserve fair markets. In my previous ministerial role at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, I was charged with reviewing competition law. I was responsible for a lot of the reforms in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, because I believe that we need to ensure that our markets are working properly and in the public interest.”
“I refer the hon. Lady to Ofgem’s “Retail Market Review”, which was published recently after a great deal of study. It contains a set of proposals for how we might reform tariffs. I commend the review to all right hon. and hon. Members. We are reading it in detail before we come forward with our own proposals to help customers around the country with their tariffs.”
“My hon. Friend makes a good point. At the moment, certainly so far as Ofgem is concerned, the fines do not go to the consumer. This Government have consulted on changing that, however, and we are making provisions in the forthcoming energy Bill to ensure that any fines would go to consumers if malpractice had been proven. That might not apply to whatever offence is found as a result of these investigations, but we are changing the law so that when an energy company does not play fair by a customer, the customer will benefit from the fines imposed.”
“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her question. She will know that consumer credit markets are regulated. I know she has been campaigning for a particular type of regulation and a particular type of credit, but it would be a caricature to say that consumer credit markets are not regulated at all. These markets are also regulated, and this Government have strengthened that regulation.”
“I share my hon. Friend’s sentiments, but I stress that it is up to the independent regulators to investigate in the way that the law prescribes. I do not think my hon. Friend would expect me to do the investigations myself. We create the legal framework, and it is under that framework that Ofgem, the FSA and, if necessary, the OFT conduct their work.”
“Ofgem has a daily role to monitor energy markets and make sure that they operate properly. In that normal process, it encounters a number of allegations. These will not have been the first allegations that it has received. Ofgem does not announce every particular allegation; it has to go through a proper process. Now there appears to be some evidence backing these allegations, but the reason we have an independent regulator is to allow it to get on and do the investigation. I suggest that that is exactly what we should do.”
“My hon. Friend asks a pertinent question. It goes back to the question asked by the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden). The Wheatley review suggested that we had more work to do in this area—a view that is, I think, held around the world. As I said to the right hon. Gentleman, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions has a broad level taskforce looking at this issue, seeing whether we need to do more on the different indices, benchmarks and price reporting agencies. The EU also has a consultation out at the moment. My hon. Friend is right that we need to look at this in the round, learn the lessons of LIBOR and other indices that might have been manipulated and ensure that we apply those lessons to other markets, too.”
“Action is being taken. I refer the hon. Gentleman to the consultation put out by the European Commission. It has also been suggested that ESMA—the European Securities and Markets Authority—should take interim measures. I have to tell him that not just domestic regulators but international regulators are taking a broader look, which is the correct thing to do.”
“My hon. Friend and I discussed the issue of pubs and competition when I was in my last job in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. I think he will realise that I am no longer in charge of competition issues relating to pubs.”
“It is my understanding that the investigations go across the whole of the country. If I am wrong about that, I will write to the right hon. Gentleman, but that is my understanding.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That shows the importance of taking these allegations seriously, because were they proven true they would have such a wide application for people’s energy bills—and, if proven true, they would relate to and impact on consumer markets.”
“I agree with the hon. Gentleman that, if it turns out that abuses have been committed that have affected prices for his and my constituents’ energy bills, that is an extremely serious matter, and we want the full weight of the law and investigatory bodies to chase down those people responsible. I have to say, however, that I do not think that makes the case for a new regulatory body. We need to make sure that the existing regulatory bodies, which have very strong and wide-ranging powers which this Government have increased, can take the necessary measures and penalise people if they are proven to have committed an offence.”
“I share my hon. Friend’s concerns that our constituents deserve markets that are fair, deliver competitive outcomes and keep prices as low as possible. He is absolutely right on that. Again, I am being asked to prejudge the outcome of the investigations, but I can say to him that if certain offences are proved to have been committed, very serious penalties are attached to them. If a cartel offence, for example, has been committed, it is a very serious one and it has a criminal sentence attached to it.”
“I am afraid that I am tempted to say that we are making amends for the failures of the last Government in this area. The hon. Gentleman talks about confusing tariffs, but the last Government took no action on them, and Ofgem—the regulator which, if I understand his question correctly, the hon. Gentleman wants to abolish—has put forward proposals to simplify and reduce the confusing number of tariffs, about which his party did nothing when in government.”
“I draw a conclusion that we need stiff competition powers. When I was the Minister with responsibility for competition, I looked at the competition framework, the institutions and the laws that we had inherited from the last Government, and I felt that they needed to be toughened and strengthened. I therefore hope that my hon. Friend will support the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which this Government have put before the House to make those reforms to competition powers.”
“The Government remain committed to ensuring that conditions are right for investment in new nuclear power in the UK without public subsidy, and we have taken action to remove potential barriers. The carbon floor price and electricity market reform will provide the certainty needed for investment in low carbon generation, including nuclear. The Government are talking to NNB GenCo about the potential terms for Hinkley Point C, and earlier this week I welcomed the excellent news that Hitachi had acquired Horizon Nuclear Power.”
“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his support. He is right to say that we need all forms of low carbon generation if we are to meet our demanding targets. I do not think that I am attracted by the idea of the state getting involved in the nationalised delivery of nuclear power. The conditions that we have set up mean that there will be a market-based approach.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is not only good news and a huge vote of confidence for the UK’s energy policy; it is also good news for British industry. Hitachi has already signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce and Babcock, and the supply chain potential is huge, with 6,000 jobs during construction at Wylfa and Oldbury, and 1,000 permanent jobs after construction. When I announced the Hitachi decision, I also announced that we had set up the Nuclear Industry Council to enable the Government to work with the industry to maximise the potential for the supply chain in this country.”
“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. I pay tribute to him, to the Government of Wales and to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales for the important role that they have all played in this deal. I can confirm that the Office for Nuclear Regulation will have all the resources it needs to go through the generic design assessment for the advanced boiling water reactors that Hitachi is proposing.”
“I have to say to my hon. Friend that that is certainly not what our scientists and analysts are saying. I know that there is a debate about the geological disposal facility in west Cumbria, but I am reassured that the local authorities are going about the decision on whether to host such a GDF in a sensible and authoritative way, and I am sure that they will support the proposal, which is an important step forward for new nuclear.”
“Following a recommendation from the Select Committee, I will shortly be publishing the Government’s energy security strategy. It will set out the Government’s framework for considering and addressing energy security, including the contribution of reduced demand. Building on that, the strategy will set the long-term direction for increasing energy efficiency, and the electricity demand reduction consultation proposes policies to unlock potential for further electricity efficiency. All three documents will be published later this year.”
“The key purpose of electricity market reform is to allow the market to make decisions of that sort. As the hon. Gentleman will know, my Ministers and I are extremely supportive of demand reduction and energy efficiency measures, which have a critical role to play in our energy mix, but we also need to bring in new supply. We face rising electricity demand as we electrify the transport and heating sectors in the years ahead to meet our climate change targets, even if we have the most ambitious energy efficiency policies imaginable, so we need both a supply-side and a demand-side response.”
“My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Sometimes in energy debates people think there is one particular solution or technology. The truth is we need a diverse-mix balanced approach on both the demand and the supply sides, and new technologies such as smart grids and smart meters have an important role to play.”
“We have three ways to help people lower their energy bills. The first way is to help people save energy through policies such as the carbon emissions reduction target, Warm Front, the green deal and the energy company obligation. The second is to help people switch to get better deals; we will do everything we can, including through the energy Bill, to get people on to the lowest tariffs. The third is to help low-income and vulnerable households with their energy bills directly, through policies such as the warm home discount.”
“The hon. Lady is absolutely right, and she will know that I have championed collective purchasing and collective switching. People who are dependent on off-grid fuels such as heating oil have been doing an awful lot of work through heating oil clubs over a number of years. They have been trying to take on the imperfections they see in the market and get a much better deal for those communities. She is right to say that this is the way to go, and I commend her and others who support those projects.”
“The hon. Lady is right; we will do everything we can, including through legislating in the energy Bill, to get people on to the lowest tariffs. We are examining the retail market review that we have just had from Ofgem, which contains a number of excellent ideas, and we will be putting forward options on this issue, including legislation in the Bill.”
“I agree with the hon. Gentleman that we need to do more to help the most vulnerable, who are facing the problems of rising electricity and gas bills. One argument that I am putting forward with collective switching is that if we can get community groups and local authorities involved in helping residents in their areas to buy energy together, they will be able to reach out to those vulnerable groups. In announcing “Cheaper Energy Together”, a £5 million competition in which local authorities and community groups can apply to set up these community switching schemes and community buying schemes, I made it clear that the only condition successful schemes had to meet was that they had to show they were helping people who are in fuel poverty—the most vulnerable in our society. I do see this as a route to helping the people whom the hon.”
“My hon. Friend is right that the Ofgem package contains many attractive proposals. I am not going to say today that we agree with every one of them, but we are studying them. It is right for my Department and my Ministers to study the proposals carefully, because this is a crucial area. I reassure him that we are attracted to many of those ideas, and we will be putting forward our options for consultation and for the Bill.”
“The right hon. Lady will know that I have already acted on this issue. Two months into office, I negotiated a voluntary agreement with the big six so that they would provide details of the best available tariff on people’s bills already—so I am afraid that she is behind the times again. I note that she has not commented on Ofgem’s proposals, not least because she wants to abolish Ofgem. That would be very damaging to the interests of energy consumers, both households and businesses. So I have to say to her that she needs to engage with the real debate, which is Ofgem’s proposals and our thinking.”
“My hon. Friend is right. Under the previous Government we had a multitude of tariffs, which became confusing and complex, but that Government failed to take action. It is good to know that Ofgem, with our support, has brought forward proposals after careful study, and we will act on them. Although it is possible to have too much simplification, which puts us in danger of reducing choice and competition, Ofgem is trying to strike the right balance and that is why we are studying its proposals so closely rather than dismissing them.”