The Tony Blair Institute has repeated its call for an expansion of gas production in the North Sea and an end to the energy firm Windfall Tax.
The think tank has links to the Saudi government, the United Arab Emirates, Elon Musk’s Starlink [pdf, p8] and Trump apply Larry Ellison.
A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:
“The Tony Blair Institute’s so-called ‘reset’ looks less like a fresh start and more like a defence of fossil fuels and an energy industry that has made over £125bn in UK profits since 2020.
“For the Institute to call for the Windfall Tax to be scrapped, while energy giants post extraordinary profits and millions live in cold, damp homes, is staggering. That tax exists because companies benefited from a crisis that devastated household finances.
“Removing the Windfall Tax would reward profiteering and shift the burden back onto households that are still paying the price of Britain’s over-reliance on gas.
“It was exposure to volatile global fossil fuel marketsthat sent bills through the roof, not climate targets and doubling down on new North Sea exploration will not lower bills.
“Gas is sold at international prices and the North Sea is a declining geological resource that cannot meet the country’s heating needs in the long term. The answer to high bills lies in accelerating homegrown renewables, reforming electricity pricing and investing in energy efficiency, not returning to the solutions of the past.”
Jess Ralston from the Energy and Climate Information Unit said:
“With many households still facing debts from the gas crisis of the past few years, focussing on bringing down bills is particularly key for them. Electrification, through the adoption of net zero technologies like heat pumps and EVs, will gradually reduce our vulnerability to the volatility of international oil and gas prices.
While the thrust of this report is around cheaper power, it’s not clear how many of its recommendations will lower bills. More drilling in the North Sea won’t make any real difference to the gas bills British homes pay because it’s international markets driven by Putin and Trump that dictate the price. The regulator’s own analysis shows more drilling will make very little difference to how steeply North Sea output continues to decline.
“Renewable wind power lowered the wholesale power price by around a third in 2025, squeezing more expensive gas power off the system. Every wind turbine we build or solar panel we install means the UK is less dependent on gas imports and less vulnerable to volatility in the gas price. We don’t have to import wind or sunshine.”
Meanwhile a spokesperson from the Green Alliance think tank added:
“We don’t need to rethink a clean power plan that’s working – the UK generated record-breaking amounts of renewable energy last year, and wind power replacing gas cut the wholesale cost of electricity by a third. Tony Blair’s think tank rightly points out that we need to make sure businesses and families save as a result, but gives few suggestions for how to do this. Given the former politician’s extensive ties to petrostates and oil and gas firms, it’s a bad look to see his institute call for more drilling in the North Sea, which will do nothing for our energy security.”