Conservative MP slams decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil while jobs are being lost in the UK

Conservative MP Matt Vickers has said it is “lunacy” for the government to lift sanctions on Russian oil but not expand drilling in the North Sea

Speaking on GB News Matt Vickers said: “I think Kemi summed it up well. We’re happy to take our oil and gas from Russia, but not from Aberdeen.

“Everyone at home knows that by not allowing us to drill in the North Sea, we end up in a situation where it’s bad for the environment, it’s worse for emissions, having this stuff carted across the globe.

“It’s bad for prices. We’re reliant upon hostile states to supply us with the oil and gas that we need. It’s bad for jobs; 200,000 people are employed in oil and gas. Those jobs are at risk. In fact, those jobs are already going in my part of the world. It’s just bad news all around.

“Dale Vince had his chums gluing people to streets trying to cause chaos on Bridge Street to get this stupid ideological move in place. Keir Starmer just sold out to him. He’s quite happy.

“This is absolute lunacy, particularly for Labour MPs out there who represent communities like mine; who have people working in this sector, whose jobs are being put on the line. They’re paying more at the pump because of this stupid ideological decision.

“Norway seem to be doing pretty well out of it, considering there’s ‘nothing left to drill’, they seem to be doing very, very well out of this.

“But on top of the emissions it creates, on top of the cost in terms of jobs, on top of the reliance, actually, there’s huge tax revenues that could be beneficial to the state from this.

“Not only could we be reducing those energy costs for people across the country, we’d actually be bringing in tax revenues.

“The thought that you can just unplug oil and gas and move straight to renewables, it’s just not a thing, is it? Nobody in their right mind thinks that you can just stop all reliance on oil and gas.

“This winter, prices for people out there would be different if we allowed those licenses to go ahead now. And if they never stopped them in the first place, we’d be benefiting from that now.

“We’d be benefiting from the tax revenues, would be benefiting from greater stability in our prices. And those people in my part of the world who’ve lost their jobs would still have jobs.

“Starmer gave a commitment in 2025 that he wasn’t going to do this. He was never going to take products that were refined from crude oil coming from Russia. He said he wasn’t going to do it. He’s now gone and done it.

“The one thing we’ve had as a country is standing shoulder to shoulder with others across the globe and doing the right thing in the interests of Ukraine, in the interests of the wider world, without backpedalling on this, letting ourselves down.

“It’s hugely disappointing, I think, for the Ukrainians.

“We’ve got to the stage where we’re talking about Starmer the statesman who has got no plan to get to 3% (of GDP on defence). Starmer the statesman, who’s made an absolute hash of the most important strategic relationship we have on the planet.

“Starmer the guy who’s given away strategic bases like the Chagos Islands.”