𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 told to put Ed Miliband ‘back in his box’ by Tory frontbencher as Britons face ‘worrying’ petrol price hike

The G7’s finance ministers including 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 are set to hold emergency talks today

The Chancellor must “put Ed Miliband back in his box” and turn to North Sea oil and gas to meet Britain’s energy requirements as costs continue to climb, Julia Lopez has said.

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Science Secretary described the situation as “really worrying” and called for urgent action from 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 on domestic energy supply.

She urged the Government to recognise “a moment of real urgency” and examine what can be achieved in the North Sea.

Mrs Lopez expressed disappointment that last week’s Spring Statement by Ms Reeves contained no intervention on energy matters.

With the Chancellor’s Mais lecture expected next week, Mrs Lopez said she hopes the Government will “recognise the seriousness of the situation” and begin “looking at what we can do in the North Sea to get energy flowing again”.

The Shadow Science Secretary launched a sharp critique of the Government’s fiscal management, arguing ministers have weakened Britain’s economic position.

“They inherited inflation at two per cent, it’s now at three per cent because of some of the decisions they’ve made on tax and National Insurance in particular, and now we’re in quite a weak position to be able to deal with this,” she said.

Mrs Lopez drew a comparison with the Liz Truss administration, noting that despite criticism of those tax cuts, the former Prime Minister “did intervene with a very large energy package to try and keep people’s bills as low as possible”.

Julia Lopez has urged 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 to put Ed Miliband ‘back in his box’ as fuel prices soar

She questioned whether the current Government could implement similar measures “without spooking the markets entirely”.

Mrs Lopez raised alarm about Britain’s growing dependence on liquefied natural gas imports from the Gulf region, a consequence of the Government’s decision to halt North Sea licensing.

“Ed Miliband cancelled all the licenses. We’re now having to be very reliant on LNG from the Gulf,” she stated, warning this creates “a severely problematic situation when Qatar cannot get its own refinery, its own energy moving”.

The Shadow Science Secretary also took aim at environmental charges added to household bills, describing them as “very large and chunky green levies”.

G7 finance ministers including 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 are set to hold emergency talks today

She argued the Chancellor “would do well to start looking at some of those levies” whilst simultaneously accelerating North Sea production.

Mrs Lopez pointed to the Conservatives’ alternative approach, noting that Claire Coutinho had developed “a very clear policy on energy bills that challenges some of Ed Miliband’s work on green energy”.

She also called on the Chancellor to reconsider a fuel duty increase scheduled for the autumn months.

“Well, there’s a fuel duty hike priced in for the autumn, I believe. And I think she has to look again at whether that is something that can actually go forward,” she said.

Mrs Lopez told GB News she hopes the Government will ‘recognise the seriousness of the situation’

She noted that the current energy price cap remains in place until June, offering “a short-term bit of alleviation” and giving ministers time to consider appropriate interventions.

However, Mrs Lopez expressed doubt about the Government’s capacity to respond effectively to the cost of living crisis.

“The Government’s put itself in a very perilous financial situation. They’ve made us financially weaker, and that’s the problem,” she said.

She concluded she was “not sure that the Government is in a position to put forward very comprehensive cost of living packages.”