Tory MP Chris Skidmore to stop over invoice ‘that promotes manufacturing of recent oil and gasoline’

A former power minister has mentioned he’ll stop as a Conservative MP over new laws “that promotes the production of new oil and gas”.

Chris Skidmore has mentioned he’ll resign when parliament returns subsequent week over the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.

The senior Tory had already introduced his intention to face down on the subsequent normal election, however bringing this ahead will set off a by-election in his Kingswood constituency in Gloucestershire.

That seat is being abolished on the election in constituency boundary adjustments, which means whoever takes his place may very well be an MP just for a matter of months, with Rishi Sunak anticipated to go to the polls in the second half of this year.

Announcing his choice on social media, Mr Skidmore mentioned: “The invoice would in impact permit extra frequent new oil and gasoline licences and the elevated manufacturing of recent fossil fuels within the North Sea.

“I can no longer stand by. The climate crisis that we face is too important to politicise or to ignore.”

The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill will permit oil and gasoline firms to bid for brand new licences to drill for fossil fuels yearly.

The authorities argues it’s important for home power manufacturing but it surely has been widely criticised by climate groups.

Mr Skidmore, who has been crucial of his social gathering’s inexperienced document earlier than, warned MPs who vote for the laws that the long run will choose them “harshly”.

He mentioned: “It is a tragedy that the UK has been allowed to lose its climate leadership, at a time when our businesses, industries, universities and civil society organisations are providing first-class leadership and expertise to so many across the world, inspiring change for the better.

“I can not vote for the invoice subsequent week. The future will choose harshly those who do.

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“At a time when we should be committing to more climate action, we simply do not have any more time to waste promoting the future production of fossil fuels that is the ultimate cause of the environmental crisis that we are facing.”

Mr Skidmore mentioned he would resign the Conservative whip to make him an impartial and stop as an MP “as soon as possible”.

He confirmed to the PA news company that he would stop “next week when Parliament is back”, with the Commons nonetheless on its Christmas recess till Monday.

By-election headache

Mr Skidmore has been an MP for the reason that Conservatives got here to energy in 2010. He has been a number one voice within the Tory social gathering on local weather points and as power minister underneath Boris Johnson, led the federal government’s evaluation into Net Zero.

He has held Kingswood since 2010, beating second-placed Labour by 11,220 votes on the final normal election.

That margin is much smaller than within the final two by-election upsets Labour handed to the Tories, when a 24,664-vote majority was overturned in Mid Bedfordshire and 19,634 in Tamworth.

Mr Sunak already faces having to defend Wellingborough after voters ousted scandal-hit Peter Bone.