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UK Government's Energy Policy

The hon. Gentleman misses one fundamental fact that has emerged in the meantime: oil prices have gone through the roof and are continuing to do so. The dramatic rise in fuel prices is punitive and completely indiscriminate, hitting the poorest hardest. Fuel is an essential resource in day-to-day living, both for transport and domestic use, and the dramatic rise in fuel prices to about £1.40 a litre for petrol and £1.45 for diesel is unacceptable. There could be much worse to come. In a speech on the oil crisis, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change speculated last week that oil prices could rise from just over $100 a barrel to $160 a barrel later this year. Another Minister suggested that soaring oil prices could raise the cost of petrol to £4 a litre, or £120 to fill a tank, as The Independent on Sunday reported a few days ago. With wages being frozen or cut, unemployment rising, and inflation running at 5%, people are becoming desperate about the price of petrol and diesel. The Secretary of State and the Government must recognise that, and recognise it soon.