It’s time to ban MPs from taking donations from fossil gas companies

Richard Burgon is the Labour MP for Leeds East

The identical oil and fuel giants behind the file power payments which have pressured so many into poverty have additionally introduced us to the cliff fringe of local weather disaster.

If we’re to have a preventing probability of stopping the worst of the local weather disaster, then we have to quickly reduce fossil gas use. Key to that’s breaking the huge energy that oil and fuel corporations have over our politics.

That’s why this week I’ll current a Bill within the Home of Commons to ban MPs from receiving funding or every other profit from oil and fuel corporations.

My Personal Members Invoice would cease MPs from taking any second jobs with, or receiving any donations, items, hospitality or benefits-in-kind from, any firm that makes greater than 50% of its annual income from oil or fuel.

It will additionally drive the Authorities to finish investments by the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund in any oil and fuel corporations.

The purpose of my Invoice is easy: to construct a firewall between our political decision-makers and the oil and fuel firms which have knowingly brought about the local weather disaster.

For many years, oil and fuel giants used their huge monetary energy to confuse and undermine the science in regards to the position of fossil fuels in driving local weather change. Extra just lately, their focus has moved on throwing huge sums at delaying, blocking and weakening world local weather motion.

Fossil gas cash additionally pollutes British politics. The Tory Get together acquired £3.5m from donors with fossil gas, polluter and local weather denial hyperlinks in 2022 in keeping with an analysis of Electoral Fee data by DeSmog, an investigative web site centered on world warming misinformation campaigns.

MPs have additionally earned big sums working for oil companies. Former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi as soon as pocketed £1.3m from an oil company whereas working as an MP. Former Power Minister John Hayes has acquired over £200,000 from oil and petrochemical dealer BB Power Buying and selling because the 2019 Normal Election, in keeping with the newest Register of MPs Financial Interests. These are simply two examples amongst many.

This goes to the very prime. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received £141,000 from people and firms with monetary ties to the oil and fuel sectors in 2022, with many of the payments going to his Ready4Rishi management bid. The only greatest donation to Liz Truss’ successful campaign for the Conservative management got here from the spouse of a former BP Govt.

There’s additionally a really well-oiled revolving door between politics and the fuel business. New research exposes how, below the Conservatives, greater than 100 oil and fuel business representatives have taken up senior roles in authorities and on ministerial advisory boards. Two dozen have gone the opposite method leaving authorities for plum roles within the oil and fuel sector.

The price paid by atypical folks for this cosy relationship was clear when the Authorities pushed for a windfall tax on the surplus income of fossil gas giants. The business went into overdrive securing over 200 conferences with the federal government in just 12 months. They had been in a position to efficiently water down the coverage with loopholes that allowed almost all of the windfall tax to be averted. It barely must be stated that local weather justice activists don’t have any such entry to the corridors of energy.

The general public has had sufficient of the affect that these company giants have on our politics. One latest ballot discovered that six in 10 people think politicians taking donations from fossil fuel companies is “unacceptable” together with 4 in ten who discovered it “fully unacceptable”. Only one in ten thought it was “acceptable”.

My Invoice will be a part of the battle towards local weather change but additionally of the much-needed cleansing up of our politics. I beforehand introduced a invoice to ban MPs from taking any second jobs and I welcome that Labour is now dedicated to this.

Even bolder motion is required on condition that British politics is now marked by a widespread sense of corruption on the prime. Two-thirds of voters consider UK politics is changing into extra corrupt, in keeping with a recent poll. In what’s clearly a hazard to our democracy, simply one-third had religion of their elected officers to place the general public curiosity forward of their very own pursuits.

Similar to with tobacco corporations prior to now, the affect of oil and fuel giants on our politics is a large menace to public well being. Air air pollution from fossil fuels already kills five million people globally every year. However even that will probably be dwarfed by the affect that the local weather disaster may have on the lives and security of billions of individuals.

The UN Secretary-Normal António Guterres has warned that the fossil gas business is ‘incompatible with human survival’. Stopping oil and fuel giants from polluting our politics is a key step in securing the simply local weather transition all of us urgently want.

Please ask your MP to signal EDM 221 in help of my Invoice.

Picture credit score: Diliff – Creative Commons

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