Conservatives are set to force a vote in the Commons demanding new North Sea drilling to reduce prices at the pump.

The party will table an Opposition Day motion today, calling on the Government to approve drilling in the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the 'onerous' ban must be lifted, branding it 'sheer lunacy' while the UK faces a supply crisis.

Oil and gas prices have been driven up in recent weeks as Iran has throttled key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, with commercial vessels coming under attack in the region.

The motion is unlikely to pass due to Labour's large Commons majority.

Ms Coutinho said: 'Turning our backs on domestic gas that could heat millions of homes would be madness in normal times, but it is sheer lunacy in the midst of a gas supply crisis.

'We must fast-track Rosebank and Jackdaw and lift the onerous bans and taxes on the North Sea to back Britain's energy security.

'Labour MPs have the chance to show they will put the national interest over Ed Miliband's zealotry.'

The Tories warned that without action, the UK could be importing as much as 82 per cent of its gas by 2035, leaving billpayers vulnerable to oil price volatility.

They claim Rosebank and Jackdaw are 'languishing' and should be used to boost domestic energy production.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said the 'onerous' ban must be lifted, branding it 'sheer lunacy' while the UK faces a supply crisis.

Mr Tufnell, whose constituency is home to an oil refinery, also wants the government to alter course.

He told the Sun: 'Drilling in the North Sea and scrapping carbon taxes on British manufacturing would kickstart economic growth, tackle unemployment, and economic inactivity in some of the poorest areas of our country as well as prevent further deindustrialisation.

'Offshoring our carbon emissions might give some a sense of moral superiority or perhaps relief from guilt, but the fight against climate change is global.

Importing oil and gas from foreign facilities that are less carbon-efficient and require long-distance shipping is simply displacing the problem elsewhere and impoverishing our own communities.'

However, last week, Dr Anupama Sen of the University of Oxford Smith School described the claims that drilling in the North Sea will significantly save households money as a 'sheer fantasy'.

Dr Sen said: 'Regardless of the remaining lifetime of North Sea oil and gas, a ''drill baby drill'' approach to extraction would actually cost households more money versus continuing on our path to clean energy.'

The university's analysis suggested maximising oil and gas extraction from the North Sea would save households just £16 to £82 a year, while a UK fully powered by renewable energy could save households £105 to £441 a year on bills.

If the Government did not use the tax revenues it collects from North Sea drilling solely to help lower household bills, there would be 'no discernible benefit' to consumers at all as oil and gas prices are set by volatile international markets, the analysts said.

msn.com

ED- regardless of the bill, will there be any gas and oil? It's not solely about cost, but strategic reaction to events unfolding in this lunatic Trumpian world.