A SCOTTISH Tory MP serving as a minister in Rishi Sunak’s government has been stripped of responsibility over the energy grid.
Andrew Bowie, who represents West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine at Westminster, served as the minister for nuclear and networks after first being appointed to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in February 2023.
In his role, the Scots Tory MP had responsibility over energy networks including the grid.
However, Bowie’s role was quietly changed, with responsibility over networks taken out of his hands, after he engaged with campaigns against new pylons in his constituency.
READ MORE: Andrew Bowie tells Tory critics to ‘get a f****** grip’ in leaked WhatsApps
Politico first reported the quiet change in Bowie’s position, which had happened in December 2023. The UK Government did not announce the change and declined to comment.
Bowie now serves as the "Minister for Nuclear and Renewables".
Bowie’s social media shows that he was engaging with people’s “concerns” about pylon routes through his consistency in June 2023, while he was the UK Government minister with responsibility over the issue.
That same month, he urged people to engage in a consultation to “engage with the process, influence the decisions and change the plans” for new pylons in Aberdeenshire.
Politico reported that concerns around a requirement in the ministerial code for government figures to avoid any conflict between constituency issues and their departmental responsibilities was said to be behind the decision to move Bowie.
Electricity firms looking to build new lines or pylons have faced protests across the UK, with groups such as the Strathpeffer and Contin Better Cable Route (SCBCR) challenging power giant SSEN over the route chosen for a network of pylons that will run for about 100 miles from Spittal in Caithness to Beauly, near Inverness.
Scottish Renewables said it is “time to be upfront and honest” about the need for updated infrastructure.
It said previous work by the UK National Grid estimated “five times more transmission lines need to be built by 2030 than have been built in the past 30 years, at a cost of more than £50 billion”.
Bowie was first brought into the UK Government by Sunak after Liz Truss's brief time in office. He served as minister for exports in the International Trade Department before switching to the energy role.
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