UK PM Rishi Sunak faces byelection challenge after ex-minister quits

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was on Friday hit with a byelection challenge as a former energy minister resigned as Conservative Party MP over new oil and gas production related legislation coming up in Parliament next week.

Chris Skidmore, who was a minister for energy under former prime minister Boris Johnson, said he was resigning as Tory MP for Kingswood in Gloucestershire, south-west England, because the constituents deserved a new member of Parliament after his "personal decision" not to continue in the Commons.

Skidmore, 42, had already announced plans not to contest the next general election but his hastened exit means Sunak will be forced to contend with a byelection, which is often seen as a precursor to the final poll results in a general election year.

"The bill would in effect allow more frequent new oil and gas licences and the increased production of new fossil fuels in the North Sea," said Skidmore in his resignation letter posted on X.

"I can no longer stand by. The climate crisis that we face is too important to politicise or to ignore," he said.

The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, which comes up on Monday when Parliament returns after its Christmas recess, will allow oil and gas companies to bid for new licences to drill for fossil fuels every year.

Skidmore warned MPs who vote for it next week that the future will judge them "harshly".

He added: "It is a tragedy that the UK has been allowed to lose its climate leadership, at a time when our businesses, industries, universities and civil society organisations are providing first-class leadership and expertise to so many across the world, inspiring change for the better.

"I cannot vote for the bill next week. The future will judge harshly those that do. At a time when we should be committing to more climate action, we simply do not have any more time to waste promoting the future production of fossil fuels that is the ultimate cause of the environmental crisis that we are facing."

The bill was unveiled on the legislative agenda of the UK government in the King’s Speech, which laid out Sunak’s plan to support the future licensing of new oil and gas fields “helping the country to transition to net zero by 2050 without adding undue burdens on households”.

Sunak has said the bill, which would allow companies to bid yearly for new licences to drill for fossil fuels in the North Sea, would protect jobs and strengthen Britain’s energy security by reducing its exposure to volatile international markets.

“We’ll now have a more pragmatic, proportionate, and realistic approach that eases the burdens on families. All while doubling down on the new green industries of the future. In a democracy, that’s the only realistic path to Net Zero,” he said last year, with reference to his energy strategy.

On Thursday, the British Indian leader indicated that he expects to call a general election in the second half of the year. The governing Conservatives will now have to face the electorate before then in a byelection.