Dan Tomlinson

I thank hon. Members for their contributions throughout the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith) in particular for his winding-up, as well as the Tory Whips for giving me the opportunity to remind the House of his support for Liz Truss as PM. My Parliamentary Private Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore), has just passed me the 10 reasons the hon. Gentleman set out for supporting Liz Truss for PM—I do not know whether that is something he now regrets. I will turn to the serious matter at hand. We are debating this issue at a time of significant international uncertainty. As the House is aware, we are now in our third week of the conflict in Iran and across the middle east. As the Prime Minister has made clear, our priority will always be the national interest through protecting British nationals and supporting our allies. This Government recognise that the conflict is not just a matter of foreign policy, and that it also has direct consequences for individuals and families here in the UK. Movements in global energy markets are likely to put upward pressure on inflation, and the longer this conflict continues, the greater the risk it poses to both economic stability and the cost of living in the UK. That is why the Government are clear that rapid de-escalation remains the best way to protect people from further fuel price increases. We are working with our international partners to support efforts to secure key energy routes and guarantee the security of vessels passing through the strait of Hormuz. We are also supporting a co-ordinated release of collective International Energy Agency oil reserves, the release of which has helped to stabilise international oil markets.