Tory MP Chris Skidmore formally QUITS in protest at Rishi Sunak's North Sea oil drive ahead of Commons debate - as rebels swipe that they don't have to obey PM because he won't be in No10 much longer

A Tory MP formally quit today in protest at Rishi Sunak’s North Sea oil drive today.

Former minister Chris Skidmore has resigned from the House, triggering a by-election in his Kingswood.

The announcement came ahead of a showdown in the Commons later over plans to boost oil and gas production.

Lord Goldsmith ramped up tensions this morning by swiping that MPs did not need to be ‘slavishly obedient to a leadership that will not be there in a matter of months’.

Mr Skidmore’s move – which he announced on Friday but made good on today – could mean three by-elections are looming.

Peter Bone has been ousted in Wellingborough over bullying allegations and Scott Benton is trying to fend off a recall petition in Blackpool South.

However, Mr Sunak sounded defiance today as he headed out on the road again for a town hall-style event in Accrington, insisting he will ‘stick to the plan’.

The premier talked up ‘good progress’ on getting the economy back on track, saying ‘we are now in a position where we can cut your taxes’.

He also stepped up his attacks on Keir Starmer, accusing him of ‘sniping from the sidelines’ and warning Labour would take the country ‘back to square one’.



Rishi Sunak sounded defiance today as he headed out on the road again for a town hall-style event in Accrington, insisting he will 'stick to the plan'

Rishi Sunak sounded defiance today as he headed out on the road again for a town hall-style event in Accrington, insisting he will ‘stick to the plan’

Mr Sunak is facing more problems as Parliament returns from its Christmas break, with ex-minister Chris Skidmore set to confirm his resignation in protest at moves to boost North Sea oil and gas production

Mr Sunak is facing more problems as Parliament returns from its Christmas break, with ex-minister Chris Skidmore set to confirm his resignation in protest at moves to boost North Sea oil and gas production

Ahead of a showdown on plans to boost oil and gas production, Lord Goldsmith swiped that MPs did not need to be 'slavishly obedient to a leadership that will not be there in a matter of months'

Ahead of a showdown on plans to boost oil and gas production, Lord Goldsmith swiped that MPs did not need to be ‘slavishly obedient to a leadership that will not be there in a matter of months’

The PM is trying to make headway against the huge Labour lead in the polls

The PM is trying to make headway against the huge Labour lead in the polls

Former cabinet minister Sir Alok Sharma, who was president of the international Cop26 climate summit hosted by the UK, said he will not support the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill when MPs vote on it tonight.

He said the legislation is a ‘smoke and mirrors’ exercise which reinforces the perception that the UK is ‘rowing back from climate action’.

The Bill will require the industry regulator to run annual rounds for new oil and gas licences, subject to stringent new emissions and imports tests.

Currently licensing rounds are run when the North Sea Transition Authority (NTSA) decides it is necessary.

The Government claims the introduction of regular licensing for exploration will increase certainty, investor confidence and make the UK more energy-independent.

Mr Skidmore has promised to quit Parliament ‘as soon as possible’ in protest at Government support for new new oil and gas drilling.

The Kingwood MP is the former Net Zero tsar and a strong supporter of environmental issues. He has previously criticised the government for slowing action against climate change.

In a statement he attacked the PM’s Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which opens the way to new drilling for oil and gas in UK waters and which is due to start its way through Parliament this week.

He had already announced he would stand down at the next election.

Mr Skidmore won with an 11,220 majority over Labour in 2019 but the seat is due to be abolished at the next general election. So any elected MP might only be in place for a matter of months.

Writing in The Daily Mail, Mr Sunak said he is ‘starting to deliver the long-term change that our country needs’ – but said the job is now to stick to his plan.

He pledged to cut taxes ‘if we continue to control spending and control welfare’ while making the ‘right decisions for the long term’.

Mr Sunak said that this time last year the notion he could cut taxes would have been ‘fanciful’, yet at the weekend the Tories implemented a 2p cut in employees’ national insurance.

Yesterday, he spoke about the need to create ‘fairness’ with tax cuts paid for by trimming the benefits budget through reforms. Currently the proposed budget without any cuts for the Department of Work and Pensions stands at £279.3bn, including £59.8bn on universal credit and £13.3bn on incapacity benefit.

He also heralded efforts to reduce inflation, writing: ‘I committed to halve inflation so we could cut taxes and we’ve done that.

‘If we continue to control spending, control welfare and carry on making the right decisions for the long term, there will be more to come.

‘We have made undeniable progress in the last year. We are starting to deliver the long-term change that our country needs.

‘The job now is to stick to that plan so that we can give everyone peace of mind that the future is going to be better for their children and to ensure we can have a renewed sense of pride in our country.’

Mr Sunak will today repeat the message on a visit to Lancashire for a ‘PM Connect’ event, where he is expected to warn businesses of the damage a Labour government could inflict.

A No 10 source said: ‘The choice is whether we stick with the plan or go back to square one with the Labour Party; where there is no plan, no progress, where taxes, debt and borrowing are increasing, and the country is going in the wrong direction.

‘The PM is determined to continue to confront the difficult challenges [and] not take the easy way out.

In an interview with BBC One’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Sunak said he was concerned about the ‘significant rise in the number of people who have been deemed unfit to work’ in recent years. ‘In the last decade that system hasn’t been reformed and you have seen the number of people who are signed-off has tripled,’ Mr Sunak explained.

‘Now do I think our country is three times sicker than it was a decade ago? The answer is no.

‘The system is not working as it was designed to work and now we are bringing forward reforms that will mean that we look at the eligibility for who is signed-off sick.

‘That won’t affect all those on existing benefits. It will come in over time on people who are newly presenting to the welfare system.’

He said the reforms to benefits were ‘about fairness’ and ‘about making sure that everybody who can work does work’.

‘And for everyone who is working hard, we reward that hard work with tax cuts, that is a Conservative approach, it is one that I think is right for our country,’ he added.

Mr Sunak’s comments come as Parliament returns after a two-week Christmas recess, and ahead of months of campaigning for the General Election later this year.

Rishi Sunak brushed off mounting Tory woes today insisting he will ‘stick to the plan’ as he steps up his campaign push

Both Mr Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer (pictured) have started the New Year at a frenetic pace, even though the election is not expected until the Autumn

Both Mr Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer (pictured) have started the New Year at a frenetic pace, even though the election is not expected until the Autumn

Meanwhile, it emerged today that senior backbencher Danny Kruger acknowledged that the country was likely to be ‘sadder, less united and less conservative’ by the end of this Parliament than in 2010.

The comments, reported by the Guardian, came at a meeting with party activists in October. Mr Kruger – who heads the right-wing New Conservatives bloc of MPs – insisted he had been making the case for ‘realism’ with the public, saying ‘either we remember the people we work for, or we face obliteration’.

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