Chris Skidmore resigns Conservative whip over Sunak’s oil and gas licence plan

Chris Skidmore, a former Tory minister, has resigned the Conservative whip over Rishi Sunak’s plans to issue new oil and gas licences, calling it a “tragedy” that the UK has lost its climate leadership.

He is also resigning as an MP, meaning the Tories face a byelection in his Kingswood constituency. His majority is 11,000.

Skidmore was a leading voice in the Conservative party on green issues, and was the energy minister who signed into law the former prime minister Theresa May’s net zero by 2050 pledge. More recently he led the government’s net zero review, which was published in September 2022. He has been critical of this government before, and previously told the Guardian the Conservative party was heading in a “very dark direction” around misinformation and climate change.

Next week, the government is introducing the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill in the House of Commons, which would allow for more licences to extract fossil fuel from the North Sea. The latest IPCC report makes it clear no new fossil fuel projects can be opened, so doing so goes against the recommendations of most of the world’s leading climate scientists.

Skidmore said in a resignation letter: “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.”

Stating that it was a “tragedy” that this bill and other actions by Sunak’s government have caused the “UK to lose its climate leadership”, he added: “I can also no longer condone nor continue to support a government that is committed to a course of action that I know is wrong and will cause future harm. To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained. I am therefore resigning my party whip and instead intend to be free from any party-political allegiance.”

He added: “The climate crisis that we face is too important to politicise or to ignore. We all have a responsibility to act when and where we can to protect the future: I look forward to devoting my time in 2024 and beyond to making the future a better place, in whatever capacity I can.”

Skidmore did not plan to run as an MP in the next election, as his constituency will be abolished in the upcoming boundary changes. He has not said yet what he plans to do, but was thought to be in the running to be the chair of the Climate Change Committee. However, as this position is selected by Sunak, his appointment is thought to be unlikely.