Ed Miliband blackout gamble backfires as EU rules threaten UK’s energy lifeline

Miliband has staked everything on renewables, blocking North Sea oil and gas drilling while betting the farm on wind and solar.

It’s a reckless strategy. He needs a full house to pull it off but is holding a pair of twos.

Miliband has been lying to us and himself.

He promised his net zero transition would cut £300 off domestic energy bills. Instead, they’re more likely to rise by that amount.

That’s a disaster given that UK energy prices are already among the highest in the world.

We also risk blackouts when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine. We came dangerously close to one on January 8.

Soon we could come a little closer.

Miliband assumed that in an emergency he could rely on power imports from an historic UK ally. Not anymore.

Our most reliable energy partner is now rethinking its export policies, in a backlash against EU rules.

That country is Norway. And it could be about to pull the plug on Britain.

Norwegian politics are normally a peaceful and consensual affair, but not today. Its politicians are having an almighty row over its energy policy.

It's collapsed the government. And could collapse Ed Miliband too.

With an abundance of hydro power, and plentiful oil and gas reserves, Norwegian energy bills should be dirt cheap.

But they're not.

That's the fault of the EU. Which Norway doesn’t even belong to.

Like the Brits, the Norwegians have resisted establishment pressure to vote against closer ties to Brussels.

But the country is bound by the European Economic Area (EEA), alongside Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

It runs two huge undersea energy interconnectors to Denmark, which means it's plugged into the EU energy trading system. And volatile EU energy prices.

As Norwegian power bills soar, the country’s politicians are coming under pressure to cut its EU connectors and prioritise domestic supply. If that happens, the UK pipeline will be next to go.

As the Express.co.uk reported yesterday, our energy prices could rocket 100-fold if that happens.

Miliband's net zero gamble has paralysed UK fossil fuel exploration. Coal has been vilified and shut down. Nuclear? Neglected for years.

Miliband’s master plan is to cross his fingers and hope for wind and sun. While relying on Norway to plug any shortfall.

But hard-headed Norwegians are tired of subsidising Europe's green delusions. Soon they may call Miliband's bluff.

Norway may finally start acting in its own national interest. Unfortunately, Miliband isn’t acting in ours. He's playing for high stakes, going all-in with the UK economy.

He doesn't strike me as a lucky gambler. And he certainly doesn't have a poker face.