The final weekend before Andy Burnham enters Downing Street is being dominated by suggestions he will announce plans for new drilling in the North Sea – but the incoming prime minister is expected to stick to his party’s 2024 manifesto pledge to issue no new oil and gas licences while honouring existing ones.
Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, confirmed the position on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, saying Burnham would be sticking to manifesto commitments but there would be a “change of emphasis” on North Sea oil and gas. “We’ve been really clear that the way to achieve in the long term energy security and lower bills is by ensuring that we do have our own homegrown, clean, much cheaper energy,” she said. “But we’ve been absolutely clear that North Sea gas and oil is an important part of that transition. It’s an important part of the mix, and I think what Andy’s talking about is taking a more pragmatic approach and working with the industry to make sure that it can contribute to that [energy] transition and to the mix that is needed over the long term.”
“Andy Burnham will issue no new North Sea oil licences but will honour existing ones, Labour deputy leader confirms.”
The speculation prompted President Trump to post on his Truth Social platform: “The People of Aberdeen, in Scotland, are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!” He said it would be “a big day” for the UK and “very much appreciated by everybody”.
But that may be premature. What is clear is that Burnham will not be confirming approval for the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields on day one. The operators of those fields were given the go-ahead by the previous Conservative government, but those decisions are having to be reconsidered because of a successful legal challenge by environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift, who argued that ministers had not considered the full climate impact from burning fossil fuels which the fields would produce.
Despite both sites having production facilities in place, a lengthy process is still underway by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (Opred). Both applications are subject to consultations which close in August, and jumping the gun on those would certainly land the government back in court.
