Esther McVey MP: Climate Timeline

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Esther McVey's Climate-related Tweets, Speeches & Votes

We've found the following climate-related tweets, speeches & votes by Esther McVey

• 8 Jan 2025: Parliamentary Speech

  That this House has considered decarbonising homes and heat batteries.

  As I have explained, we have become addicted to gas over a number of years, which is why my constituents in Ealing Southall are consistently paying higher energy prices and struggling to heat their homes. We should have started work years ago on breaking our addiction to gas by investing in our own renewable energy and upgrading our homes to use that energy, but the previous Government never had the bravery to take action at the scale that is needed. Instead, they stopped us producing cheap British-made energy by blocking the building of onshore wind farms and by cutting funding for solar panels.

  We need to wean our home heating systems off gas, in the same way that we need to wean the country off gas when it comes to renewable energy. The recent Budget invested £3.4 billion as a first step in the warm homes plan. Heat pumps, which will benefit from some of that money, are a great way to wean us off gas. They use electricity rather than gas, so they can be fed from home-grown energy from our wind and solar farms.

  Like many residents of rural areas on an off-grid oil heating system, my constituent Nicholas in Sparkford desperately wants to change to a heat pump, but it would cost him £19,000 to transition. The cost is preventing so many people in rural areas from decarbonising their home. I appreciate that the Government are taking steps to help, but in rural areas the cost is simply too high. What can the Government do to incentivise people who live in rural areas to decarbonise their home?

  That is where innovative British firms such as Kensa in Cornwall and Tepeo in Reading come in. Both companies use heat batteries, using the same science that is behind hand-warmer packs, to store thermal energy until it is needed. Tepeo’s zero emission boiler, ZEB, uses a heat battery that automatically buys energy at cheaper times of day and releases it when required, reducing energy bills. Users do not need an outside pump; they just need a box about the size of a gas boiler. Because of their small size and their ability to plug and play without needing to do replumbing, heat batteries are a good solution for heating homes in built-up urban environments like London, including parts of Ealing Southall.

  I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate. I was lucky recently to visit Kensa’s air source heat pumps in Sutton Dwellings in Chelsea. I have also visited Tepeo’s factory; it is great to see the chief executive officer in the Public Gallery today. Does my hon. Friend agree that for heat batteries to enjoy the same penetration of the market as heat pumps, it is important that they benefit from VAT relief and the same levels of subsidy so that we can decarbonise our heating?

  I thank the hon. Member for giving way and for securing this important debate. My constituency has one of the highest levels of off-gas-grid properties in the UK, with over a third of my constituents dependent on heating oil to keep their homes warm. Does the hon. Member agree that it is vital that the Government bring forward plans to help off-grid homes to decarbonise not only to help the environment, but to help to bring their bills down?

  We need to look at the electricity market to see if there are ways of splitting off the price of cheaper renewable energy from the price of gas to reflect the true value of energy storage. I hope to hear more from the Minister on that point, as part of the review on the electricity market that she has committed to undertake.

  Full debate: Heat Batteries: Decarbonising Homes

• 02 Jan 2025: Tweet

  Labour’s energy policy is a mess. They promised to cut energy bills but are delivering the opposite We need energy security &affordability not NetZero zealotry Instead of making the UK too dependent on expensive imports& renewables we must exploit our resources in the North Sea [Source]

• 04 Oct 2024: Tweet

  Putting Miliband & power together was always a bad idea. Yet Starmer has made this man the Minister for Power. A man so obsessed with net zero, he is prepared to risk blackouts and bankrupting the country to pursue his ideological student politics. https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1957028/ed-miliband-uk-power-energy [Source]

• 29 Jul 2024: Tweet

  Pull the other one Labour!Of course you knew the state of the country’s finances all provided by OBR. Truth is Labour were always planning massive tax hikes to pay for pet projects like hiking up overseas aid, buckling to their union paymasters’ demands &their net zero fanaticism https://twitter.com/EstherMcVey1/status/1817853083893829813/photo/1 [Source]

• 27 Jul 2024: Tweet

  RT @LeeAndersonMP_: Here it is. The cheaper fuel bills you were promised. Net Zero will make the poor poorer and the rich richer Who Kne… [Source]

• 08 Jun 2024: Tweet

  RT @camillahmturner: ???? EXC: Labour’s net zero plans ‘risk blackouts’ Energy Secretary says Starmer pledge to convert Britain to clean powe… [Source]

• 08 Feb 2024: Tweet

  Sir Flip Flop Starmer strikes again Telling journalists he’s keeping his £28bn Green energy splurge without any plan as to how he’d pay for it Meanwhile behind the scenes Labour sources are briefing that it is being ditched A new low even for Starmer More flop than flip-flop https://twitter.com/ed_miliband/status/1667079092712226817 [Source]

• 03 Aug 2023: Tweet

  I can't be the only one enjoying the screeching U-turns politicians are making over Net Zero. Many of us have been raising the alarm over its timetable and estimated trillion-pound-plus cost for a while. https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1798426/net-zero-ulez-rishi-sunak-economy-u-turn-esther-mcvey [Source]

• 31 Mar 2023: Tweet

  The mad rush for Net Zero, when we have neither the technology nor the infrastructure to deliver it – and we certainly don’t have anything like the huge sum of money it will cost – is lunacy… full story ???????? https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/1753062/net-zero-environment/amp [Source]

• 27 Oct 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  Food security is a perennial concern. Even the meaning of “food security” causes concern and disagreement, but I will use this definition as a starting point—being able to feed the population at a reasonable cost, even in the face of future shocks such as a global pandemic, massive harvest failure or a general crisis of agricultural productivity caused by climate change. However, colleagues may well wish to expand on that definition and talk about a whole array of issues, for this is such a vast topic with so many important implications for farmers and for families and household food bills, particularly now that we see them rising with the cost of living crisis.

  Food production is essential for the delivery of the environmental benefits on which the Government plan to centre in their agricultural support policy, but unless we recognise the dual role of farmers as food producers and conservationists, we risk turning farmers into environmental contractors with little incentive to continue farming. That would do enormous damage to the jobs and communities that depend on farming, as well as weaken our food security. The strategy needs to be clearer in linking food production to action against climate change and enhancing the natural environment.

  Full debate: National Food Strategy and Food Security

• 19 Oct 2022: Vote

  Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 13 Mar 2022: Tweet

  RT @GBNEWS: 'The idea that we increase the percentage of renewables to replace gas is really naive.' Director of Net Zero Watch, Dr Benny… [Source]

• 18 Jan 2022: Parliamentary Speech

  It is also important to highlight one particular opportunity and one particular challenge in the east of England. The opportunity is presented by the UK’s net zero target, with East Anglia right at the forefront of the Government’s plans. Half of the UK’s offshore wind fleet will be anchored off our coast. There is the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station, and there is the potential to retrofit the gas infrastructure, both in the southern North sea and on land via the Bacton gas terminal. Some 30% of the UK’s low-carbon electricity will in due course come through Suffolk alone. There is potential to completely transform the economy of the whole of coastal East Anglia, where many deep pockets of deprivation are found. To make the most of the opportunity from which the whole of the UK will benefit, the Government need to provide the necessary seedcorn funding. If that is done, we are not just talking about levelling up; we can provide a global exemplar as to how decarbonisation can be delivered to benefit local people and local communities.

  I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way and making such an excellent contribution to this debate. I notice that on transport infrastructure, he seems to be looking at a very 20th-century model, as if the climate crisis was not happening. Will he talk a little more about the kind of rapid transit systems that he envisages would take individuals off the roads in their cars and move them on to buses and trains, freeing up more of that road network system and helping the environment and ecological systems that are in place?

  Full debate: Levelling Up: East of England

• 30 Nov 2021: Parliamentary Speech

  Being a fisherman is probably the most dangerous job that anyone can do in the United Kingdom. There is a high level of fatalities, and fishermen go out in all weather. When I go to the harbour and visit fishermen, I can never really get my head around how people can sleep in the foetal position in about 3 feet of space while their boat is being tossed about in the water. That is the job that fishermen do. They acknowledge that there are more challenges on the horizon, driven by climate change targets and the increasingly shared nature of the marine environment. The marine protected areas, the promotion of offshore wind energy, and blue carbon are among the new issues on which our industry, through the Northern Ireland Fishermen’s Federation and the good offices of Alan McCulla and Harry Wick, is seeking to be proactive.

  Full debate: UK-EU Fisheries Allocations

• 07 Aug 2021: Tweet

  Join the Net Zero Debate Judge orders quango to back up its claim of the cost of only 1-2% of GDP - data, models, calculations need to be released Very striking that those who want to bring forward the date of net zero are always coy about the total cost to the public. https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1423986028784852999 [Source]

• 26 May 2021: Vote

  Environment Bill — New Clause 24 - Prohibition on burning of peat in upland areas - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 13 Jan 2021: Vote

  Financial Services Bill — Schedule 2 - Prudential regulation of FCA investment firms - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 08 Dec 2020: Vote

  Delegated Legislation — Financial Assistance to Industry - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye

• 16 Nov 2020: Vote

  Pension Schemes Bill [Lords] — Clause 124 - Climate change risk - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 12 Oct 2020: Vote

  Agriculture Bill — After Clause 42 - Contribution of agriculture and associated land use to climate change targets - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye

• 29 Sep 2020: Vote

  United Kingdom Internal Market Bill — New Clause 6 - Economic development: climate and nature emergency impact statement - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 05 Feb 2020: Vote

  Transport - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 25 Jun 2019: Vote

  Delegated Legislation — Value Added Tax - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye

• 21 Apr 2019: Tweet

  Fascinating graph - worth 15seconds of anyone’s time to watch UK’s performance and reduction in CO2 emissions #Working4Change https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1116597323344142337 [Source]

• 20 Apr 2019: Tweet

  RT @afneil: Journalism isn't "yellow" just because you disagree with it. Anyway here are CO2 emissions (tonnes) per capita: US: 15.7, Russi… [Source]

• 04 Dec 2013: Vote

  Recall of Elected Representatives — Schedule 4 — Application and modification of emissions limit duty - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 133 — Financial provisions - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: Aye

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 10 — Direction to offer contract - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 04 Jun 2013: Vote

  Energy Bill — Clause 1 — Decarbonisation - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 03 Jun 2013: Vote

  Communities and Local Government — Clause 42 — Duty not to exceed annual carbon dioxide emissions limit - Pro-climate vote: No - Their vote: No

• 19 Dec 2012: Vote

  Charities Act 2011 (Amendment) — Energy Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 17 Oct 2012: Vote

  Relationship, Drug and Alcohol Education (Curriculum) — New Clause 22 — Interpretation of the green purposes: duty to assess impact on the Climate Change Act 2008 - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 11 Jun 2012: Vote

  Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 14 Sep 2011: Vote

  Prime Minister — Clause 42 — Domestic energy efficient regulations - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 14 Sep 2011: Vote

  Prime Minister — Clause 42 — Domestic energy efficient regulations - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 14 Sep 2011: Vote

  Prime Minister — New Clause 1 — Energy efficiency aim - Pro-climate vote: Aye - Their vote: No

• 20 Jul 2010: Parliamentary Speech

  The north-west has the potential to be the European leader in renewable energy and the low-carbon industry. We have more sites devoted to creating energy from renewable sources than anywhere else in the UK, which gives us the capacity to generate the second largest amount of energy. We must see whether we can be first.

  Full debate: North-West Economy