Burnham faces North Sea dilemma as research warns drilling ‘will fail’

A new cartoon by Ben Jennings shows Andy Burnham arriving at No 10 – but the incoming prime minister will find a controversial energy policy waiting on his desk. As the Strait of Hormuz closes again, pressure is mounting on Burnham to change the UK government’s stance on North Sea oil and gas drilling. Yet fresh research warns that two of the most prominent projects, Rosebank and Jackdaw, “will fail as a long-term strategy”. The argument is often framed as a trade-off between climate and costs, with some urging a focus on cutting energy bills rather than emissions. But the research suggests that pursuing new drilling would be a misstep. Burnham, whose imminent arrival at Downing Street was captured in Jennings’s cartoon, now faces an early test of his environmental and economic priorities. The closing of the Strait of Hormuz – a key chokepoint for global oil supplies – has intensified calls for domestic energy production, but the evidence indicates that doubling down on North Sea fossil fuels is not a sustainable solution. The new administration will have to navigate this tension between short-term pressure and long-term strategy, with the research casting doubt on whether drilling can deliver either climate goals or energy security.