MORE North Sea oil drilling will not lower bills, campaigners warned the next prime minister as a government adviser called on Labour to “hold the course” on climate action.

The climate change committee published its latest analysis yesterday which estimated that households adopting a heat pump, solar panels and drive an electric vehicle could save £1,200 a year compared with traditional energy sources.

Rural households reliant on oil boilers saw a 10-fold rise in energy bills since the start of the Iran war.

They could see savings as high as £1,900 if they switch to greener heating and transport compared with their bills today.

Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said the committee was “entirely right” that the path to cheaper bills is “helping every household and business make the switch to clean domestic electricity so that we can free ourselves from the fossil fuel rollercoaster.”

She slammed politicians for acting like climate change isn’t already affecting Brits, “whether that’s rising oil prices, or rising temperatures,” adding: “Instead, like Trump, they demand more North Sea drilling and the scrapping of targets that aim to keep us within safe climate limits.

“New drilling will do nothing to lower our bills, but it will make a handful of oil companies even richer and the escalating climate crisis worse for us and future generations.

“The UK’s clean economy is growing faster than the rest of the economy.

“This government, whoever leads it, must do more to free us from the oil profiteers, ignore those who are blind to the climate crisis, and double down on the transition away from fossil fuels.

“This government must put the interests of bill-payers and workers before those of billionaire oil and gas interests.”