Denmark gets it.

The Danish government announced this week that it's considering extending North Sea oil and gas licences to 2050 — eight years beyond their current expiry date. The reason? Europe needs energy security, and wishful thinking won't heat homes.

Danish Energy Minister Lars Aagaard put it bluntly: "I would have preferred that Europe could make do with green energy. But the reality is different, and I fundamentally believe that it is better for Europe to get gas from Denmark than from countries outside our continent."

That's a grown-up talking. Compare that to Ed Miliband.

Britain's Energy Secretary has spent his time in office waging war on the North Sea oil industry. New drilling licences? Blocked. Existing operations? Taxed into oblivion. The message to the industry is clear: we don't want you here.

The result? Investment is fleeing. Jobs are disappearing. Aberdeen, once the oil capital of Europe, is hollowing out. And Britain is becoming more dependent on imported energy from countries that don't share our values or our interests.

Denmark and Britain share the North Sea. They look at the same water and see completely different things. Denmark sees energy independence, jobs, tax revenue, and a bridge to the future. Britain sees something to be ashamed of.

The irony is savage. Today, ministers celebrated Ofgem's £117 cut to the energy price cap while bills remain £73 higher than when Labour took office. We're cheering a smaller wound while Denmark stops the bleeding altogether.

There's enough oil and gas under British waters to power this country for decades. We just have a government that would rather import it from Qatar than drill it from our own seabed.

Denmark chose reality. We chose Ed Miliband. And we're paying for it every time we switch the heating on.