UK needs to take a Norwegian approach to natural wealth | Express Comment | Comment

Having just arrived back from visiting Oslo, I can tell you Norway works wonderfully with one of the highest standards of living in the world. And it does it by fully exploiting its natural resources – exporting oil and gas so it is one of the few economies with an economic surplus.

So why can’t we do that with our natural energy resources in the UK?

Like Britain, Norway discovered a bounty of oil and gas in the North Sea in the 1960s but, today, rather than now deciding to close down its fields to win some witless race to net zero, it sells most of it abroad to fund social expenditure.

Most of its electricity for home use comes from hydroelectricity so it can afford to sell its carbon energy around the world. The figures are impressive. It is the third largest exporter of natural gas after Russia and Qatar, the eighth largest exporter of crude oil and has some of the biggest coal reserves in the world.

Sure, some green-minded, middle-class Norwegians feel guilty about this, but their government is sensibly ignoring them, as the wealth generated by exporting carbon fuels means shorter working hours, stronger labour rights and a very generous welfare system.

Norway is seventh in the world Happiness Report, whereas the UK is 20th. And, from a green point of view, it has the highest number of electric cars in the world.

Wisely, Norway’s government has ensured that part of its energy bonanza is channelled into a Government Pension Fund Global with assets of £1.3trillion, thus ensuring all Norwegians benefit from a high spending welfare system. Its public transport system is impressive, frequent and reasonably priced, with elegant trams being an attractive feature of Oslo’s city centre.

Rather than cutting down on petrochemical exploration, Norway is hoping to make up for a decline in North Sea oil by exploring its Arctic seas.

Why on earth is the UK not doing this with its own below the surface wealth? Instead our government has been captured by green zealots who see no connection between natural wealth and a higher standard of living. Instead, Labour are choking off North Sea oil and gas exploration, shutting down coal mines and steel works.

For some odd reason, they think it is greener to import energy rather than sell our own around the world. If we can make enough electricity from renewables, which seems unlikely without massive subsidies, then we should sell our own oil, gas and coal to pay for our ballooning public sector.

Norwegian common sense means that they’re also able to deal more efficiently with immigration. Having increased over recent years, migrants make up some 17 per cent of the population but most of them are from Poland, Ukraine and Baltic states, drawn by work opportunities.

They have accepted less migrants from failing states. Sensing some migrants were exploiting the system by lying about their places of origin and circumstances, they deployed DNA tests to check family tie claimants and ensure the system was robust helping those in genuine need.

By keeping accurate data on immigrants, they revealed that non-European immigrants were over-represented in the criminal justice system.

In order to bring down the costs of imprisoning them, such as providing interpreters, foreign criminals have been placed in a separate jail for those awaiting deportation after serving their sentence.

They see no point in re-integrating them into Norwegian society. Perhaps this would be a good idea for the 10,000 foreign criminals housed throughout our UK prisons?

Norway is a much smaller country than the UK with a population of just over five million and not everything is perfect there. The cost of importing food is high, making prices challenging for locals let alone tourists. Eye-watering prices of alcohol certainly meant I drank less.

But overall the sense of a society at ease with itself is palpable. It has a confidence and generosity coming from a practical approach to its sovereign wealth. It is not part of the EU and can chart its own future which, with the world market for energy being insatiable, looks to continue to be highly prosperous.

If only our government took a similar practical approach to Britain’s natural wealth, dropped the green fanaticism, and focused on making the most of our own petrochemical good luck to enrich us all.