‘We’re like heroin addicts!’ Furious row erupts as GB News guests clash over Britain’s energy crisis
Apr 11, 2026
GB News guests have clashed after it was claimed Britain was compared to a “heroin addict” hooked on fossil fuels.Ed Gemmell, leader of the Climate Party, rowed with historian Philip Kiszely over opening up new oil fields in the North Sea.
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0:00
What a total load of drivel
0:02
I mean, honestly. And, I mean, let's... I mean, we do agree on one point, actually
0:07
that the Green Party could just get rid of the word green and not even use it in their name anymore
0:11
call themselves the brown party or something. They're no longer the Green Party. Brown and green mixed, red, I don't know
0:16
You know, whatever it is. I don't know where you're going with that. That's certainly true
0:21
What are you talking about? I don't think they're any more green. But the point is, I mean, the other one..
0:25
I mean, honestly, the rest of it was total drivel. I mean, look, the reason we're in this problem at the moment
0:29
is because we're still relying on oil and gas completely. And oil and gas at the moment is not providing us security
0:36
It's not doing anything for us at all. If we had done big investments over the last 20, 30, 40 years..
0:40
But we haven't, though. That's the point. One second, you have a long time talking. Into tide, into wind, into solar and all the others
0:46
we would have seen a massive decrease in our energy bills, as well as the fact we'd have energy security much higher than we do now
0:52
And we could even de-industrialise most of our industries. Green steel is there. Green cement is there
0:56
We should be doing, before the others, making money for Britain, making sure that the whole opportunity is in Britain and not in the rest of the world
1:03
And this drivel about going back to the old stuff polluting again but also just making us not secure We like heroin addicts at the moment We chasing the dragon for our next fix and it getting more expensive and less easy to get hold of But if we did tidal power
1:18
we'd put 20 gigawatts onto the grid for less money than it will cost us investing in our oil
1:22
and gas fields, which are diminishing. It is absolute and total rubbish. And since 2008
1:28
the only thing that has stimulated our economy is net zero. The CBI is showing it growing by 10
1:33
a year when our actual economy has been flatlining and our productivity rate has gone down
1:38
The only thing that's stopping us outsourcing everything to China is by doing these industries
1:42
here as much as we can. But it's not working and we haven't done it. So this is if we'd
1:47
done this, if we'd done that, if this had happened, if this, it hasn't happened
1:52
We haven't done it well enough, I agree. No, well, it doesn't matter, does it? We just haven't done it. So what's happening is we've
1:59
got china we've got america we've got india so we're worrying about pollution when they're
2:03
polluting the world ridiculous make any difference what we do it's a tiny percentage it literally
2:09
does not make any difference what we need to do no seriously what we need to do is think about the short to medium term all right you doing exactly what the children I taught do which is worry about 200 years time
2:25
Rubbish. No, that's what you were just doing. You were talking about long-term pollution. What we need to do..
2:31
Now, we are looking at a recession. It might well even be a depression. We need to focus
2:36
on that. And we really need to think about how people are going to eat, how people are
2:42
No, listen, just listen to how people are going to heat their homes
2:46
We need to think about the short term and we need to do anything reasonable
2:51
And it is reasonable to frack and it is reasonable to think about our gas and our oil
2:56
It is reasonable to do that and then think about other things in the long term
3:01
They are two different things at the moment. And we are in crisis and we need to appreciate that we are in crisis
3:08
You must be talking about nationalisation of the oil and gas industry so we can force it to come into here, force it to come to Britain
3:14
No, I'm not. No, I'm not. I'm talking about common sense. Otherwise there is no no effect on bills whatsoever And then we actually just had as well criticism of Rachel Reeves or in fact she may be weakening up about 17 billion that the oil and gas industry is thinking about investing in the North Sea If that entire money went in we see no decrease in our bills whatsoever If we spent the same amount of money on batteries and tidal power
3:36
we'd see up to about £600 a year coming in, and the tidal power would be going for 50 years
3:40
whereas the oil and gas is only going to last for about 10 or 15 years. You don't know that. It is madness
3:44
Absolutely not. I do know the tidal power is going to last that long. You're projecting 50 years. You don't know what's going to happen tomorrow
3:49
Tidal power? I'm talking about short term. Yes, we do. No, I'm talking about crisis, and we are in crisis
3:56
We just talked about the national stage there in terms of security. Fuel is very much part of that
4:03
So you get that for the other thing, but you really don't get it here. You're talking utopian nonsense
4:08
You're talking economics that really don't add up, and you're completely ignoring the incredible resources
4:17
that the three of us are sat on at the moment. No, your rose-tinted spectacles are completely wrong
4:23
It's getting more expensive in the North Sea to get it out. There isn't so much of it
4:28
Even if we get Jackdaw coming online, which I think is more like jackass in terms of a project
4:32
if we get Jackdaw coming online, it is not going to put energy bills down
4:36
It is not going to do anything to the pricing at all
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