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Energy Security

The right hon. Gentleman, about whom I made admiring remarks last week—I slightly regret it now—is known for being beyond partisan politics, at least most of the time, so I do not think that those comments become him. I do not know what he means by 50 years' time. We have set clear targets, at least on low carbon emissions, for much sooner than in 50 years' time, and we are clear about our energy policy, as I shall explain. I want to say something else that is important in setting the context for this debate. People are hard-pressed at the moment, including on gas and electricity bills. In a sense, however, this is a comparative debate with the rest of Europe, so it is worth saying that gas prices here are the lowest in Europe, as they have been for domestic customers for the past five years. That says something about the nature of our system. It does not mean that it is not capable of improvement. All systems are capable of improvement, and we should always learn lessons. However, it is important to make this point, particularly when people talk about prices spiking and so on: according to the most recent figures, we have the lowest prices in Europe.