A fragile ceasefire announced on 8 April offers breathing space for seafarers and shippers. In London a day later, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper used the Mansion House platform to argue for an energy-secure UK-one that reduces exposure to fossil choke points. Her line was blunt: renewable power “cannot get stuck in the Strait of Hormuz.” The International Maritime Organization (IMO) says it is already working on safe-transit mechanisms while the truce holds. (imo.org)

Why the focus on Hormuz? In 2025 roughly a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and around a fifth of LNG moved through the strait, according to the International Energy Agency. Most of those barrels and cargoes sail to Asian markets; Europe’s direct share is much smaller, but price shocks flow everywhere. That makes diversifying away from oil-and-gas exposure a cost-of-living policy as much as a climate one. (iea.org)

The UK’s immediate gas position is steadier than a decade ago. Norway remains the dominant pipeline supplier and the United States is the leading LNG source. In 2024, imports of LNG from Norway rose and overtook Qatar as the second-largest LNG partner, with Qatari volumes falling-evidence that Britain has already reduced its dependence on cargoes that must cross Hormuz. But global prices still bite, which is why reducing fossil exposure matters. (gov.uk)

The quickest hedge is clean, homegrown electricity. The latest Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) release shows renewables provided 53.3% of generation by Major Power Producers, with gas at 33.7% and nuclear at 12.1%. That progress doesn’t just cut emissions-it shields households and firms from geopolitics. (gov.uk)

Policy momentum will be tested this summer. Ministers have signalled the next Contracts for Difference auction will open in July 2026, while reforms to the Clean Industry Bonus set a clear mid‑May timeline for AR8 supply-chain support. Bigger budgets and streamlined planning would translate that intent into steel in the ground. (gov.uk)

Nuclear remains part of the resilience mix, but timelines are real. EDF now organises Hinkley Point C’s Unit 1 for 2030 (2031 if a further 12‑month delay materialises), with costs estimated at £35bn in 2015 prices. To bring earlier capacity online, the government has selected Rolls‑Royce SMR as preferred bidder and confirmed Wylfa on Anglesey for the first small modular reactor site; the SMR design has cleared ‘justification’ under UK law. Delivery discipline and grid-readiness will decide how quickly this helps. (edf.fr)

Flexibility is already doing quiet heavy lifting. National Grid’s DSO reports 100% low‑carbon flexibility dispatch since April 2025, with 1.7 GW of available capacity across 95 high‑voltage and 1,144 low‑voltage zones. A new ‘FlexUp’ service now operates in 23 zones to soak up windy, sunny hours and cut curtailment. Over summer 2025 alone, 1.1 GWh of flexible demand was delivered, with registered assets topping 300,000 by January 2026. This is how you build resilience without building new plants everywhere. (dso.nationalgrid.co.uk)

Storage is scaling too. By mid‑2025 the UK was approaching 10 GWh of operational grid‑scale batteries, while Ofgem confirms 2.8 GW of pumped‑hydro today and a new cap‑and‑floor scheme to unlock 2.7–7.7 GW of long‑duration storage in its first window. Treat storage as critical infrastructure and clean power becomes reliable, day and night. (energy-storage.news)

Energy security isn’t just electrons-it’s materials. The government’s 2025 Critical Minerals Strategy sets a goal to meet 10% of UK mineral needs domestically and 20% via recycling by 2035, backed by new finance guarantees and partnerships from Indonesia to the United States. BGS’s Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre warns that rare earth magnets for wind turbines and EVs remain vulnerable-another reason to accelerate recycling and responsible sourcing. (gov.uk)

Shipping safety is a humanitarian issue as well as an economic one. The IMO has condemned attacks and recorded 21 strikes on commercial vessels with multiple seafarer deaths. Reopening a vital waterway matters-but the surest way to stop distant flashpoints emptying UK wallets is to reduce the role of seaborne oil and gas in the first place. (imo.org)

The Mansion House message lands: keep calm, build resilience. Push more renewables through CfD, keep nuclear projects honest on cost and schedule, expand storage and flexibility, and bank the gains of a smarter, diversified critical‑minerals supply chain. Do that, and the next chokepoint shock will feel like a headline-not a household bill. (gov.uk)