Bradley Thomas MP voted for the Conservatives' Clean Power Plan - a common-sense policy that would cut every household's electricity bill by 20% - saving the average family £165.
Britain has the highest electricity prices in the world. This is making families poorer, our businesses less competitive, stifling economic growth, and deindustrialising Britain. The absolute priority of the Conservatives’ energy policy will be to reduce the cost of energy.
That is why the first step of the Conservatives' Cheap Power Plan will be to Axe the Carbon Tax and scrap Ed Miliband’s extortionate wind and solar subsidies, currently paid through levies on everybody’s electricity bills. These policies could be enacted immediately and cut the average household electricity bill by a fifth - £165 off the typical bill. The average restaurant would save £5,100 a year.
This will put more money back in the pockets of families in Bromsgrove and the Villages, so they have more to spend on what matters, and support British industry to create jobs, expand and create a stronger economy.
Almost half of the cost of producing electricity in Britain is a result of Net Zero spending, taxes and levies. Research by the Renewable Energy Foundation found that the equivalent of 40% of the cost of producing electricity in Britain, £22 billion a year, is paying for the costs of renewables and Net Zero, including various renewable subsidies, the Carbon Tax, backup for when renewables cannot generate power, paying wind farms to switch off when it’s too windy, and the cost of building the pylons required to connect renewables to the grid. All of these costs are recovered through our energy bills.
A third of the wholesale price of electricity is the Carbon Tax. The Carbon Tax, comprised of the Emissions Trading Scheme and Carbon Price Support, accounts for around a third of the wholesale cost of electricity. Both the Climate Change Committee and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero accept that the Carbon Tax increases the wholesale price of electricity. This is a policy choice designed to aid the transition to Net Zero.
The Renewable Obligation subsidy scheme has increased electricity bills by over £67 billion. Families and businesses have spent at least £67 billion subsidising renewables through the ROC scheme since 2002.
The Climate Change Act, passed by Ed Miliband under the last Labour Government, commits the UK to reducing emissions by rigid targets to achieve Net Zero by 2050, forcing the UK to prioritise climate targets over the economy and the cost of living. The UK’s carbon budgets – mandated by the CCA – set a legally binding limit on the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions in order to achieve Net Zero by 2050, without flexibility to limit the impact on our economy or the cost of living.
The Act also forces Ministers to make decisions that increase energy bills, deindustrialise Britain, and make people poorer. Because the emission reduction targets are legally binding, Ministers are forced to impose policies like the Carbon Tax, renewables subsidies, the Boiler Tax, and petrol car bans which increase the cost of electricity and take money out of people’s pockets solely for the purpose of meeting climate targets.
The Conservatives will Axe the Carbon Tax, scrap Ed’s extortionate wind subsidies, and repeal the Climate Change Act to cut energy bills:
- The Conservatives will repeal the Climate Change Act 2008. The Climate Change Act established legally binding, five-yearly carbon reduction targets. The Climate Change Act forces Ministers to make decisions that increase the cost of energy and make people poorer.
- The Conservatives will axe the Carbon Tax for electricity generation, saving families £75 a year. The Carbon Tax (the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and Carbon Price Support (CPS)) will be scrapped for electricity generation. This will reduce wholesale electricity prices by a third, or around £27/MWh, saving households £75 per year on their electricity bills. The ETS and CPS are taxes that are charged on gas power stations when they generate electricity, which are passed straight through to households and businesses in their energy bills.
- The Conservatives will scrap Ed Miliband’s extortionate old renewable subsidies, saving families £90 a year. The Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) scheme pays subsidies to wind and solar farms and other renewable generators, who are paid up to three times the market price of electricity. These subsidies are paid by every household and most businesses through their electricity bills. The ROC subsidies are reliant on primary legislation, meaning they can be stopped at any point. Scrapping this would save households £90.
Following the vote in the House of Commons yesterday (November 12th), Bradley said:
"Labour promised to cut your energy bills by £300, but instead they are locking Britain into higher prices for decades. Their Carbon Tax, boiler levies, and ban on British oil and gas are a triple hit on families, jobs and national security. Every decision they make seems designed to make energy more expensive.
"The Cheap Power Plan I voted for will fix this – axing the Carbon Tax, scrapping Ed Miliband’s rip-off subsidies, overturning the North Sea ban, and cutting bills by 20% instantly.
"It's time to stop punishing people for turning the lights on and start powering Britain properly to deliver a stronger economy."
