Amber Rudd: a year in review

To most UK voters, energy policy is one of the issues least likely to provoke second thoughts at the polling station. In a series of surveys carried out by Ipsos Mori in the run up to the last general election, the words ‘energy’ or ‘environment’ never once featured in the list of a dozen or so key issues considered ‘very important’ by prospective voters.

However, so muddled had energy policy become under the coalition government from 2010-2015 that any action taken by Amber Rudd, who became energy secretary in May 2015, was subject to considerable media scrutiny. While Rudd’s unerring commitment to shale exploration and the dismantling of Chris Huhne’s Green Deal have won the politician few friends in environmental circles, her approach was praised by many as being more practical than her recent predecessors. Rudd’s initial policy tweaks were followed in November by a more comprehensive energy strategy, centring around gas, nuclear and, cost-permitting, offshore wind.