Tory MP Chris Skidmore quits over oil and gas drilling
Rishi Sunak is facing another by-election headache after a former Conservative minister quit the Commons over the government’s green policy.
Chris Skidmore, who was energy minister under Theresa May and also in government under Boris Johnson, announced last week he would be leaving his role as an MP.
His resignation coincides with a vote in the House of Commons on the government’s plans to offer new licences for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
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Mr Sunak angered some in his party when he watered down the government’s net zero plans last year, with Mr Skidmore a vocal proponent of green energy and policies.
In his resignation letter, he said was quitting “in protest at the government’s decision to prioritise and politicise new oil and gas licences above a sensible investment plan for the future”.
He said while the government had “once led in promoting climate action” at the COP26 climate summit, it was now opposing the likes of the International Energy Agency and the UN’s climate change committee.
“We should be taking the long-term decisions for the future of our country that protect our citizens, our economy, and our planet, not playing short-term politics with legislation that achieves so little but does so much to destroy the reputation of the UK as a climate leader,” he added.
Read more:
Chancellor: Skidmore ‘wrong’ on North Sea oil and gas
PM to give system of awarding new oil and gas licences green light
Mr Skidmore’s resignation means there will be a by-election in his Kingswood seat, where he has a majority of 11,220.
That margin is far smaller than in the last two by-election upsets Labour handed to the Tories, when a 24,664-vote majority was overturned in Mid Bedfordshire and 19,634 in Tamworth.
Mr Sunak already faces having to defend Wellingborough after constituents ousted scandal-hit Peter Bone.
Mr Skidmore is not the only Conservative MP to signal his unhappiness with the new oil and gas drilling.
Alok Sharma, who was president for the UN’s COP26 climate conference in the UK, has said he will not support the bill – although this may mean he abstains rather than opposes it.
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The vote is on the second reading of the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill – this is the first time the potential law is voted on, but it is still a long way from becoming law.
MPs and peers will still be able to amend it, and the House of Lords and Commons will also have further votes.
Hester Peirce, a commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and head of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, reaffirmed the right to crypto self-custody and privacy in financial transactions.
“I’m a freedom maximalist,” Peirce told The Rollup podcast on Friday, while saying that self-custody of assets is a fundamental human right. She added:
“Why should I have to be forced to go through someone else to hold my assets? It baffles me that in this country, which is so premised on freedom, that would even be an issue — of course, people can hold their own assets.”
Peirce added that online financial privacy should be the standard. “It has become the presumption that if you want to keep your transactions private, you’re doing something wrong, but it should be exactly the opposite presumption,” she said.
The comments came as the Digital Asset Market Structure Clarity Act, a crypto market structure bill that includes provisions for self-custody, anti-money laundering(AML) regulations, and asset taxonomy, is delayed until 2026, according to Senator Tim Scott.
Related: SEC to hold privacy and financial surveillance roundtable in December
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) challenge Bitcoin’s self-custody ethos
Many large Bitcoin (BTC) whales and long-term holders are pivoting from self-custody to ETFs to reap the tax benefits and hassle-free management of owning crypto in an investment vehicle.
“We are witnessing the first decline in self-custodied Bitcoin in 15 years,” Dr. Martin Hiesboeck, the head of research at crypto exchange Uphold, said.
Hiesboeck attributed the shift to the SEC approving in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto ETFs in July, which allowed authorized holders to exchange crypto for ETF shares and vice versa without triggering a taxable event, unlike cash-settled ETFs.
“A move away from the self-custody mantra of ‘not your keys, not your coins’ is another nail in the coffin of the original crypto spirit,” Hiesboeck added.
In February, notable Bitcoin analyst and investor PlanB, the developer of the BTC stock-to-flow model, announced that he transferred his Bitcoin to ETFs to alleviate the “hassle” of private key management.
PlanB’s announcement caused an outcry in the Bitcoin community, as many voiced concerns that handing over custody to a third party clashed with Bitcoin’s core values.
Magazine: When privacy and AML laws conflict: Crypto projects’ impossible choice
Jeremy Corbyn has declined to say his Your Party co-founder Zarah Sultana is a friend as supporters of the new grouping gather in Liverpool.
Speaking to Sky News on the eve of the conference, Mr Corbyn acknowledged “stresses and strains” in the set-up of the party but said it had become “a lot better in the last few days and weeks and we’re going to get through this weekend”.
The former Labour leader has publicly clashed with Ms Sultana, the MP for Coventry South, over the launch and structure of the new party.
Asked if they were friends, Mr Corbyn said they were “colleagues in parliament, and we obviously communicate and so on”.
The pair appeared at separate events on the eve of the party’s inaugural gathering.
Ms Sultana had previously claimed she was being “sidelined” by a “sexist boys’ club” within the fledgling party.
Mr Corbyn said her comments were an “unfortunate choice of words” but added that he had been more involved in the organisation of the conference than she had.
The co-founders have had a strained relationship since setting up the party. Pic: Your Party
The Islington North MP also said that Your Party was still waiting for Ms Sultana to transfer all of the funds she had raised from supporters.
“Obviously having money up front for a conference is a big help,” he said.
Ms Sultana has insisted she is transferring the donations in stages.
The weekend gathering in Liverpool will see supporters choose between four options for a permanent party name: Your Party, Our Party, Popular Alliance, For the Many.
The preferred choice of Ms Sultana – The Left – did not make the ballot.
Similarly, the Coventry MP had said she favoured a co-leader approach, but members will only be able to pick between single leadership or collective leadership models.
Speaking at her own pre-conference rally, Ms Sultana blamed a “nameless, faceless bureaucrat” for restricting the choices.
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The meeting also risked being disrupted by a series of member expulsions. One of those ejected, Lewis Nielsen, accused a “clique” of trying to “take over”.
Your Party sources said expulsions related to members of the Socialist Workers Party and that holding another national party membership was not allowed.
Ms Sultana blamed a “culture of paranoia at the top” and said she believed the same people who had been briefing against her were now also expelling members.
Mr Corbyn will open the conference on Saturday, while the results of the main decision-making votes will be announced on Sunday.
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