Andy Burnham to announce new North Sea oil and gas drilling to prove ‘pro-business’ credentials – in blow to ‘Red Ed’ Miliband’s Net Zero agenda
Andy Burnham is set to announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
The incoming Prime Minister is understood to be considering opening the Scottish oil and gas fields Jackdaw and Rosebank.
Regulators initially approved permission to explore for oil at two sites in 2022 and 2023 under the then Conservative government, but it was canceled in 2025 following a legal challenge.
So supporters say the decision technically won’t break Labour’s new manifesto promise to not grant new licences.
In addition to stimulating the economy, this move is likely to please the unions that finance the Labor Party; many of them have openly expressed their displeasure at attempts to prevent new discoveries due to job-displacement concerns.
While Mr Burnham is said to have hoped his announcement would send a signal that he planned to deliver on his promise to be ‘pro-business’, it was a slap in the face to Ed Miliband, who long resisted the move despite mounting public pressure.
It will also anger other MPs to Mr Burnham’s left who want to prioritize Net Zero.
In another blow to Mr Miliband, insiders expect the new Prime Minister to wrest complete control of North Sea oil drilling from him.
Andy Burnham will allow new oil and gas drilling in North Sea to prove his ‘pro-business’ credentials
Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary and Mr Burnham’s Chancellor candidate, opposes new drilling licences.
Sources say the new Trade Secretary, allegedly Jonathan Reynolds, will manage Britain’s energy policy as part of a strengthened ‘Department for Industry’.
Managing rebel MPs, including ‘Red Ed’, will be one of Mr Burnham’s biggest challenges. But this plan has already been welcomed by some.
Last night, Labor MP Al Carns hailed the move as ‘absolutely the right call’, adding that greater use of home-generated energy would change who gets the jobs. [and] Who gets the tax revenues to fund our public services?
And Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘Burnham shouldn’t be stopping here. We must lift the devastating ban on new licenses, cut the Energy Profits Tax and adopt our Drilling in Britain plan.’
