Tories face another by-election as ex-minister quits as MP over North Sea drilling

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Rishi Sunak faces another by-election challenge as former energy minister Chris Skidmore is poised to resign as an MP, after quitting the Tories over legislation to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling.Mr Skidmore, who led a Government review of net zero, announced on Friday he would stand down as he said the Prime Minister’s environmental stance is “wrong and will cause future harm”.The MP for Kingswood in South Gloucestershire said the “future will judge harshly” anyone who backs the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill due to be voted on in the Commons on Monday.He said he could not vote for legislation that “clearly promotes the production of new oil and gas” and would show the UK is “rowing ever further back from its climate commitments”.“To fail to act, rather than merely speak out, is to tolerate a status quo that cannot be sustained,” he said in his resignation statement.Mr Skidmore said he would resign the Conservative whip, making him an independent, and quit as an MP “as soon as possible”.He confirmed to the PA news agency that he would stand down “next week when Parliament is back”, with the Commons still on its Christmas recess until Monday.Mr Skidmore has held Kingswood since 2010, beating second-placed Labour by 11,220 votes at the last general election.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.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record