rime Minister Rishi Sunak is confronted with another political upheaval as former energy minister Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood, Gloucestershire, is set to resign, triggering a by-election. Skidmore’s decision comes in the wake of his disapproval of proposed legislation aimed at boosting North Sea oil and gas drilling.
In a scathing critique of Prime Minister Sunak’s environmental stance, Skidmore, who led a Government review of net zero, announced his resignation on Friday. Expressing his opposition to the forthcoming Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, he took to X, formerly Twitter, to detail his concerns.
Skidmore stated, “This Bill would in effect allow more frequent new oil and gas licences and the increased production of new fossil fuels in the North Sea. As the former energy minister who signed the UK’s net zero commitment by 2050 into law, I cannot vote for a Bill that clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas.”
Highlighting his refusal to vote in the King’s Speech debate as a protest against the Bill’s inclusion in the government’s legislative program, Skidmore declared his resignation from the party whip, emphasizing his desire to be free from any party-political allegiance.
“I therefore will be standing down from Parliament as soon as possible,” Skidmore confirmed, emphasising that his constituents “deserve the right to elect a new Member of Parliament.” The resignation is expected to take effect next week when Parliament resumes from its Christmas recess on Monday.
This latest development adds to the political turbulence faced by Rishi Sunak, who now contends with navigating a by-election in Kingswood amidst growing discontent over environmental policies within his own party.
