Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 26
Badenoch Backs More UK Drilling as London Nears 100F in Heatwave
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 26

Badenoch Backs More UK Drilling as London Nears 100F in Heatwave

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 26

Summary

  • London temperatures neared 100F eight days after Kemi Badenoch urged Britain to “get drilling again,” putting her pro-oil and gas message against a severe UK heatwave.
  • A Met Office red warning drove the disruption: schools closed, trains were canceled or delayed, some hospitals paused elective procedures, and the opening of London Climate Action Week was called off.
  • Badenoch, a self-described “net zero skeptic,” made the case in Aberdeen, a North Sea oil hub where Conservatives recently won a special election and where supporters applauded her call to end the “war on oil and gas.”
  • Andrew Bowie, the party’s energy spokesman, said Conservatives still support a cleaner-energy transition but oppose net-zero policies they say raise household bills, deindustrialize Britain and forgo North Sea tax revenue.

Insights

With UK heat deaths rising, is a return to fossil fuels an economic fix or a gamble with citizens' lives?
Will more North Sea drilling truly lower UK energy bills, or are consumers hostage to global market prices anyway?