Foreign Direct Investment

Lord Redwood Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

What has been rewarding since I took this job on seven months ago is the ability to work with all the devolved nations, realising that every part of our country needs to benefit from the economic development that is coming through. We have members of our Office for Investment teams throughout the United Kingdom and the devolved nations, and I look forward to working with any partner that can encourage growth and innovation around our industrial strategy.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

Banning investment in new diesel or petrol vehicles, putting on very high energy taxes and having very high energy prices are a massive turn off to large sectors of industry worldwide. Will the Government lift the bans and lower the taxes and then we will have much more investment?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

If anything is clear from the past couple of weeks, it is that energy sovereignty and controlling our own destiny when it comes to energy is critical. The macro environment and geopolitics are regrettable and unfortunate. They bring pressures on our energy, but security and the commitment we have made to low-cost renewable energy for the long term is where this Government will stay the course. The call for new fossil fuel exploration misses the point somewhat, in that the near-term pressures that we are feeling will not be solved by new exploration licences in the near term. We are committed to the net-zero goals and renewable sovereign energy powers, and that is where we hold control and our own destiny.