Minister rejects requires additional North Sea drilling
A authorities minister has rejected requires utilizing extra oil and gasoline from the North Sea amid calls to approve additional drilling in an effort to scale back vitality costs.
The Conservatives are set to drive a vote within the Commons demanding new oil and gasoline drilling within the North Sea to assist sort out hovering gas costs, branding the ban “sheer lunacy”.
But vitality minister Michael Shanks stated doubling down on fossil fuels could be “the absolute wrong lesson” to study from the outbreak of struggle within the Middle East.
“Our future lies in building a clean power system that breaks us away from the volatility of fossil fuels,” he advised the BBC. “It gets us off this roller coaster. More than half of the economic shocks this country’s faced have been caused by fossil fuel crises around the world. We’re determined to insulate households from that in the future that means moving away from fossil fuels building a clean power system protecting households and bringing down bills.”
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 08:04
Starmer warns UK have to be ready for prolonged battle in Middle East
Though the US pause on strikes towards Iranian vitality infrastructure calmed markets and noticed oil costs ease again, Sir Keir Starmer stated Britain have to be ready for the Iran struggle to proceed “for some time” on Monday.
Donald Trump had threatened to obliterate Iranian energy vegetation if Tehran didn’t open the Strait of Hormuz to transport by 11.45pm on Monday, after which stated he would “postpone” the strikes after “very good and productive” talks with Tehran.
But Iranian officers have denied any such negotiations passed off.
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 07:54
‘Nothing is off the table’ in terms of vitality payments help, minister says
Political reporter Athena Stavrou stories:
A minister has insisted the federal government will “fight people’s corners” as Rachel Reeves weighs up plans to implement help for British households within the wake of the struggle within the Middle East.
The chancellor is ready to stipulate plans to protect towards unfair value rises in an announcement to MPs on Tuesday, following an emergency Cobra assembly on Monday afternoon.
Energy minister Michael Shanks stated that minister’s have “left nothing off the table”, as he mentioned additional help which may come into place.
“We also know that we might need to introduce further support,” he advised Sky News. “We are three weeks into a conflict, it’s changing very rapidly. We will continue to monitor what’s happening.”
When requested if it could seemingly be focused moderately than common help, he stated: “ I think most people would accept that when we’ve got limited public financing, looking at targeting that to people who need it the most is probably an important thing for us to look at.
“But we also want to make sure we don’t miss people in that, because often means testing things does miss those people who are just on the edge.”
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 07:47
UK was not concerned in Iran-US peace talks
Political reporter Athena Stavrou stories:
The UK was conscious, however not concerned, in the latest talks between the US and Iran to finish the struggle within the Middle East.
The US president insisted that “very good and productive” discussions on ending the struggle have been happening — a declare which has since been labelled as “fake news” by the Iranian parliament speaker, who stated there had been no talks.
Energy minister Michael Shanks advised Sky News that the federal government was “aware that the talks were happening”, however stated it was not part of them.
“I think in truth, we’ll see how these play out over the coming days,” he stated.
“But obviously we’ve been really clear, anything that leads to de escalation of this conflict is welcome. Diplomacy is really important, so if there are people having these conversations that can only be a good thing.”
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 07:46
Reeves to stipulate plans to guard public from unfair value hikes
Rachel Reeves will define plans to protect towards unfair value rises amid fears among the many public over surging oil and gas costs sparked by the Iran struggle.
The Chancellor will make an announcement to MPs after laying out her plans to the Prime Minister and colleagues in an emergency Cobra assembly on Monday afternoon.
Those will embrace an “anti-profiteering framework” to detect and crack down on corporations exploiting the Middle East disaster and assist the Competition and Markets Authority root out value gouging.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer stated he was boosting the competitors regulator’s powers, giving it “further teeth” to cope with profiteering.
This might contain giving regulators “time-limited, targeted powers” and the Treasury, Department for Business and Trade and regulators have been stated to be working “at pace” on what these powers could possibly be.
The Chancellor can be anticipated to inform the Commons that Britain wants a various mixture of vitality to defend the general public from risky fossil gas markets and stress the significance of not letting “blockers” get in the way in which of boosting Britain’s nuclear energy provide.
Ms Reeves will announce that she is exploring government-backed indemnities for crucial vitality safety tasks so development can proceed if a mission is legally challenged.
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 07:45
Motorists mustn’t drive slower due to Iran oil disaster, minister
Motorists mustn’t drive slower nor purchase gas in another way due to the Iran oil disaster, an vitality minister has stated.
Michael Shanks was requested by Times Radio if drivers ought to change their habits because of the oil restrictions attributable to the battle within the Middle East.
He advised the broadcaster: “They should do everything as absolutely normal because there is no shortage of fuel anywhere in the country at the moment. We monitor this every single day, I look at the numbers personally. There’s no issue at all with that.”
Mr Shanks added: “People should go about their business as normal. That’s what the RAC and the AA have said. It’s really important people do that.
“There’s no shortage of fuel and everything is working as normal.”
Asked straight if drivers ought to gradual their pace, Mr Shanks replied: “Look genuinely, people shouldn’t change their behaviour or their habits in the slightest.”
Tara Cobham24 March 2026 07:28
Starmer to present Competition and Markets Authority ‘additional enamel’ to guard clients
Sir Keir Starmer stated on Monday he was giving the Competition and Markets Authority “further teeth” so it may possibly higher defend clients.
As a part of that, Downing Street stated the Government won’t hesitate to present the CMA and different regulators “time-limited, targeted powers” if wanted. The Treasury, Department for Business and Trade and regulators are working “at pace” on what these powers could possibly be.
Bryony Gooch24 March 2026 07:10
No 10: Reeves to ‘crack down on corporations in the event that they exploit’ Iran struggle
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey and vitality secretary Ed Miliband gave updates on the economic system concerning the disaster within the Middle East in a Cobra assembly on Monday.
They confused that de-escalation and ending the Iran battle was “the best thing we can do for the economy”, Downing Street stated in a readout.
“The Chancellor set out the steps she will take tomorrow – in a statement to Parliament – that will help protect working people from unfair price rises.
“She spoke about a plan to detect and crack down on companies if they exploit the crisis in the Middle East. This will take the form of a new anti-profiteering framework which will help regulators like the CMA to root out price gouging.”
Bryony Gooch24 March 2026 07:00
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rachel-reeves-price-hike-labour-starmer-trump-iran-latest-news-b2944167.html