Energy prices are 'scandalous' and slashing them is a 'number one priority', Net Zero minister says

Energy prices in Britain are “scandalous” and making them more affordable is a “number one priority”, the Energy Secretary has said. Miatta Fahnbulleh tore into the Tories for ignoring the issue for “decades”, and described Kemi Badenoch ’s party U-turn on net zero as “tragic”. Speaking to journalists in Westminster, the senior minister, who this week approved the Jackdaw gasfield, vowed to not just tell people the benefits of net zero, but show them through jobs and slashing bills. Discussing her first days in post, she said: “The first graph I was given showed me energy prices versus our European competitors, and it is egregious, and it is scandalous, and it is absolutely unforgivable that we have had politics for decades now that have seen that trend and thought it was okay. It is not okay. “Fundamentally getting to a place where we're making energy bills more affordable for people and for businesses is my number one priority because it is the foundation for everything.” Andy Burnham has asked ministers to look at whether standing charges can be removed from gas bills to help ease the pressure of spiralling energy costs on families. Attacking other parties for abandoning commitments to net zero, Ms Fahnbulleh said the issue should be a “no-brainer”. She said: “I think it's a sad place for Reform to have got to, but I'm even sadder about the Tories, because they know better. And they've had a long tradition, including Boris Johnson , of working cross-party on climate action. It has been really painful and tragic to watch that consensus burst at a time when we're seeing the impacts of climate change.” The Peckham MP pledged to deliver change the public can feel, saying it wasn’t enough to just tell people ‘this transition is great, huge amounts of investment’, She said:“No one cares if they don't feel it, if they don't see it. And so the way I'm thinking about the job is, we should never be purely beholden on targets. The targets are a good thing, it drives momentum in the system. “What matters is how it impacts our places and our communities. We need to drive down bills, because in the end that's the thing that is creating toxic politics around this, but ultimately it's also bringing the power of investment that will go into the transition. I think we'll win the argument because I think we're on the right side of history.” It comes in a week that saw the controversial l Jackdaw gas field in Scotland granted a drilling licence following a long legal battle. The project, off the coast of Aberdeen, has been in limbo for two years after the High Court ruled a previous approval was invalid. Environmental groups had called for it be scrapped, while supporters said it would support up to 3,500 jobs and generate billions of pounds in tax revenues. A decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, is being made separately. Dismissing reports that a decision had been made, she said: “Only I can make that decision. And I really enjoyed reading bits in the media like, ‘Andy's deciding this, John's deciding’, well actually, only I can make that decision, and the framework is really tight.”