Economy

We predict that the oil crunch is likely to occur during the next term of government.

The next government will very likely need to steer the UK economy through a period of unusually high oil prices. The members of ITPOES therefore recommend that all political parties actively consider the consequences of this and prepare themselves to weather a change in the UK economy driven by a volatile oil price which increasingly sits in the range of $120-150 per barrel.

Apart from driving new legislation, the new government will have an important role to play in incentivizing private sector companies, public sector organisations and individuals, to change their behaviour in terms of reducing oil demand. A combination of legislation and ‘encouragement’ is therefore recommended.