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Former climate change minister Amber Rudd has been promoted to energy secretary by prime minister David Cameron.
The Hastings and Rye MP will replace Ed Davey in the top job at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc), after the former energy secretary lost his seat in last week’s general election.
She was first appointed to Decc in the July 2014 reshuffle, replacing the then-climate change minister Greg Barker.
Rudd is a supporter of shale gas, which will chime well with the Conservative Party and the prime minister, who stated in their general election manifesto that they would “support the safe development of shale gas”.
During a House of Commons debate on the Infrastructure Bill in February, Rudd initially stated that robust regulations were already in place to support the development of fracking, but then adopted proposals put forward by Labour, including banning fracking in national parks.
The new energy secretary has also voiced her support for wind generation, calling it “an important part of the generation mix”.
She has spoken out against large scale solar farms, saying they “are not particularly welcome” in the UK, but she is in favour of mid-scale, roof mounted solar arrays.
Rudd is one of a number of high profile female appointments made by David Cameron, who is aiming to have a least a third of his new cabinet made up by women.
Her appointment to Decc also quashes rumours that the department could have been scrapped under the new government.
Rudd has also been a member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee between 2010 and 2012, as well as serving as parliamentary private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2012 to 2013, and as Assistant Whip from October 2013.
The new energy minister, the seventh in seven years, has been named as Andrea Leadsom. The South Northamptonshire MP has previously worked as the economic secretary to the treasury, and said in 2011 “the benefits of onshore wind have been hugely exaggerated” and that the government “needs to look much more closely at other sources of renewable energy”.
Former energy and business minister Matthew Hancock, has left both Decc and the Department for Business, Innovation, and Skills, and has been appointed as minister for the Cabinet Office.
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