As the Strait of Hormuz closes again, incoming prime minister Andy Burnham faces intensifying pressure to change the UK government’s policy on North Sea oil and gas drilling — just as a Ben Jennings cartoon depicts his imminent arrival at No 10.
But research shows that drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields will fail as a long-term strategy, undermining calls to ramp up extraction in response to the latest geopolitical crisis.
“Andy Burnham faces pressure to change North Sea oil policy as research shows Rosebank and Jackdaw drilling will fail.”
The argument is often portrayed as a choice between climate and costs: some say the focus should be exclusively on cutting energy bills rather than chasing emissions reductions. That sentiment, however, “completely misrepresents what is possible and what is at stake”, according to analysis seen by the New Statesman.
With Burnham expected to enter Downing Street imminently, the question of whether to abandon or accelerate North Sea development has become one of the first major tests of his premiership. The cartoon by Ben Jennings, published in the Guardian, shows the mayor of Greater Manchester striding towards the front door of No 10 — a visual reminder that the decision will soon be his.
Proponents of expanded drilling argue that with global supply routes under threat — the Strait of Hormuz has closed again — domestic production is essential for energy security. But the research counters that new projects at Rosebank and Jackdaw cannot deliver the long-term stability promised, and that fixating on output misunderstands both the economics and the climate imperative.
The incoming prime minister has not yet set out his detailed energy strategy, but the mounting pressure from both sides suggests an early, fraught choice. What is clear, analysts say, is that the conventional framing of the debate — pitting emissions against bills — misses the point entirely.
