The retired military officer tells the British PM that a special task force would give the impression of urgency and empower him to make difficult decisions.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been urged to form a “war cabinet” to treat the energy crisis as a national emergency.
A special task force, according to a retired Royal Air Force officer, would instill a sense of urgency and better equip the new British leader to make the difficult decisions required to ensure energy security.
The former head of the British Defense Academy, Air Marshal Edward Stringer, offers his counsel as Mr. Sunak reconsiders the energy strategy Liz Truss left him.
Mr. Sunak is in charge of a relief package for this winter while also promising more nuclear power and offshore wind energy in the long run.
After Russia drastically reduced its gas supplies, energy prices have been raised throughout Europe and plans have been made for potential rationing.
Air Marshal Stringer recommended that Mr. Sunak combine the crisis’ energy and national security aspects in a report for the right-leaning think tank Policy Exchange.
“The PM should establish a ‘war cabinet’ to deal with the interrelated national security aspects of energy security as it would an existential wartime concern,” he wrote.
The crisis “requires difficult trade-offs to be calculated across departments”.
“It requires the urgency of wartime and a suitably empowered, task-organized command authority to deliver it,” he said.
There were only a few senior ministers in Britain’s war cabinets during the two world wars, and they frequently worked across party lines.
In times of crisis, the phrase was also used to refer to important advisors to other prime ministers, including John Major in the Gulf War and Margaret Thatcher during the Falklands War.
“The importance of some structure like a war cabinet is necessary for the part to signal the gravity of the circumstances,” wrote Air Marshal Stringer.
In response to Russia’s reductions, he advised Mr. Sunak to push for cooperation across Europe in order to strengthen energy security.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt, who will present Britain’s fiscal plans on November 17, is one of Mr. Sunak’s most important energy crisis advisors.
As he attempted to reassure markets about the state of Britain’s finances, Mr. Hunt reduced the energy subsidies announced by Ms. Truss.
In a Cabinet shuffle, Grant Shapps was chosen to take Jacob Rees-Mogg’s place as minister for business, energy, and industrial strategy.
Mr. Sunak hinted he would reinstate a ban on shale gas fracking that Ms. Truss had moved to repeal during his first Prime Minister’s Questions.
When questioned about onshore wind, which he opposed during the summer leadership campaign, he provided no clear response.
Reference: https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/2022/10/28/sunak-told-to-form-war-cabinet-to-tackle-energy-crisis/