Key to understanding how the government will be challenged over the coming five years is the formation of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee and the Environmental Audit Committee, both of which will be finalised by the end of the month.
Conservative energy minister Amber Rudd may have breathed a sigh of relief following the Conservative majority election win. But while coalition wrangling within the Department of Energy and Climate Change may be in the past, the rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and continued opposition from Labour means energy policy will remain under pressure.
The SNP has been granted the leadership seat of the ECCC, a position previously held by outspoken Tory MP Tim Yeo, and this could offer the party a vehicle for advancing its drive to have a greater say on energy policy. The Conservative pledge to cut onshore windfarm subsidies is likely to be a bone of contention for the Scottish MPs, who are committed to generating renewable energy to meet 100 per cent of Scottish demand by the end of the decade. The SNP has also pledged to turn its back on shale gas and nuclear development – both key energy ambitions for the Conservative government.
On the environmental front, Labour is set to take leadership of the EAC, so the energy industry is unlikely to become less of a battlefield in the years to come.
Sources speaking to Utility Week from across industry and politics have narrowed down the top three likely candidates to lead the charge on each committee, ahead of the 17 June leadership vote.
Energy and Climate Change Committee
Mike Weir, SNP
In many ways Mike Weir is the natural choice to head up the energy committee as one of the few SNP MPs with over a decade of significant experience in both Westminster and energy policy.
Weir first joined parliament in 2001 and from 2005-10 was SNP spokesman on business and enterprise (which included energy) and the environment. From 2010-15 he focused on energy specifically and served on the ECCC where he was an outspoken critic of the “folly” of the government’s Hinkley new nuclear plans.
Weir has championed the implementation of social tariffs in combating fuel poverty and, in line with SNP policies, is a firm supporter of wind power, with his constituency of Angus already playing host to a string of windfarms and three offshore projects also proposed off the Angus coast. Weir was also a vocal supporter of the one million roofs campaign by the Solar Trade Association.
However, Weir’s strong Westminster experience amid a new wave of 50 SNP MPs may lessen the odds of him taking the top spot on the committee. Weir was appointed SNP chief whip, raising doubts among observers over whether he would “double up” while already holding an important leadership role for the party.
Callum McCaig, SNP
Stepping into Weir’s shoes as the party’s Westminster energy spokesman is relative newcomer Callum McCaig.
McCaig’s previous political experience, before ousting Labour from the seat of Aberdeen South, is as party leader for Aberdeen Council. McCaig backed a controversial £140 million Garden City project, designed in part to turn Aberdeen into a “truly 21 century world energy city”, but the plans were rejected. Fresh to his role, McCaig has so far spoken singularly on the subject of fuel poverty, a prominent issue in Scotland.
Like many new SNP MPs fresh to the halls of Westminster, McCaig is expected to learn fast. But his current lack of experience or gravitas is not the only reason the SNP might opt not to put him forward for the role of chair. As one political insider told Utility Week, the SNP may find it can operate more successfully on energy policy if its energy spokesman is free to maintain the party line without needing to express the consensus views of the committee. Given the SNP’s strong views on renewables, nuclear and transmission charges, McCaig may already have more than enough on his plate.
Alex Salmond, SNP
Alex Salmond is a man who needs little introduction.
As leader of the SNP during the independence referendum, Salmond proved himself a political force to be reckoned with, while wielding energy policy as a key feature of the SNP’s plans for a prosperous Scotland. The SNP’s policy under Salmond’s leadership was heavily in favour of renewable energy, with a desire to be 100 per cent reliant on renewables to meet Scottish demand by 2020. However, he was equally keean to exploit Scotland’s reserves of gas and oil to bolster the economy. Although the SNP is staunchly anti-nuclear, Salmond reportedly told EDF he was happy for the two nuclear power plants due to close in 2023 to have “life extensions”.
Salmond’s political clout and grasp of energy policy is unquestioned. But industry sources have raised doubt over whether, as the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, his ambitions might now lie elsewhere. In the face of a possible EU Brexit, Salmond may have bigger fish to fry. On the other hand sources have suggested that a high-profile role on energy may prove the perfect vehicle to flex his political muscles while maintaining a leadership presence without stepping on the toes of the SNP’s new leader, Nicola Sturgeon, as she manages the SNP’s headline concerns.
The Environmental Audit Committee
Barry Gardiner, Labour
Fellow ECCC colleague Barry Gardiner confirmed his intention to stand for the EAC leadership role with Utility Week on Wednesday, and brings to the race a broader environmental scope of experience.
Gardiner has served as a Labour MP since 1997 and in recent years has played a central role in Labour’s plans for the natural environment. In the last Labour government Gardiner held the position of minister for biodiversity within Defra. More recently, in opposition he was Ed Milliband’s special envoy for the environment and climate change from 2011 to 2013 before he was appointed shadow minister for the natural environment and fisheries, a position he continues to hold in addition to taking up the position as shadow water minister.
Gardiner’s contribution to the environment was recognised in 2013 when he was awarded the Environmental Parliamentarian of the Year Award.
On energy he has largely been supportive of measures to prevent climate change, and with his party pushed for an inclusion of a decarbonisation target. Although he has in the past said shale gas could play a role in the UK generation mix as a “transition fuel”, he has cautioned against an overreliance on gas-fired power stations when it comes to meeting carbon targets. But compared with Whitehead, Gardiner’s focus might lie more closely with issues of air pollution after a pre-election campaign alongside shadow London minister Sadiq Khan to reduce harmful emissions in the capital.
Alan Whitehead, Labour
Of Labour’s three likely candidates for the head of the EAC, Alan Whitehead is arguably the candidate with the greatest focus on the UK energy industry.
Whitehead is not shy about voicing his opinions on energy, and he is well placed to have them. Serving on the Energy And Climate Change Committee, the all-party Parliamentary Renewable And Sustainable Energy Group, and already a member of the Environmental Audit Committee, Whitehead has a breadth of hands-on experience. Should he take the role, it could spell trouble for shale gas developers. Whitehead was recently instrumental in taking prime minister David Cameron to task over the heavily redacted fracking impact report and called on the government to make it public, saying: “You could be forgiven for thinking that the government has something serious to hide about fracking and its impacts.”
Huw Irranca-Davies, Labour
Huw Irranca-Davies took the decision to step down from the Labour frontbench earlier this year after five consecutive years as an opposition minister, a move that may have been made with the intention of filling his time with a top role on the EAC.
Irranca-Davies served as a shadow Defra minister from 2011-15, following his 2010-11 tenure on the shadow Decc team, after his move from shadow marine and natural environment minister earlier that same year. Should Irranca-Davies take the lead on the EAC, the energy industry should be braced for some difficult questions on shale development. Irranca-Davies was one of the more vocal critics of the burgeoning shale industry in mid-2011, calling for a moratorium on any activity.
In 2013 his criticism continued with a Twitter blast in which he questioned whether the Tory “shale gas love-in” was linked to vested interests in shale companies. He has nonetheless shown a pragmatic side: “If shale gas, for example, can be part of our transition to a low-carbon future and can provide cheap affordable gas, as it has done in the US, then great.”
Nominations for the committee leadership positions opened on Thursday morning and will close at 17.00 on Wednesday 10 June. the secret ballot of the whole House is scheduled for Wednesday 17 June.