Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch has accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of avoiding difficult decisions on oil and gas, writing in the Express that his government has delayed approvals for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects due to concerns about the 'optics' during a hot summer.
Badenoch claims Burnham's promise to bring pragmatism to Downing Street has not materialised, noting that weeks of postponements have left businesses and workers in limbo. She suggests the recent rainy Bank Holiday weekend may have influenced his reported preparation to approve Jackdaw, questioning whether Britain has a Prime Minister or a weatherman.
Delays branded cowardice, not pragmatism
Writing in her opinion piece, Badenoch argues that decisions about how Britain powers itself for decades cannot depend on the temperature outside Downing Street. She describes the approach as cowardice rather than pragmatism, stating that people whose livelihoods depend on the North Sea cannot put their mortgages on hold until the weather changes.
The Conservative leader also criticises the reported piece-meal approval of Jackdaw alone, saying it is insufficient for those waiting for an answer on Rosebank. She argues that Burnham should not expect applause for making one decision while maintaining Labour's ban on new oil and gas licences.
Ban chokes investment and jobs
Badenoch asserts that the ban on new licences chokes future investment, puts skilled jobs at risk and leaves Britain increasingly dependent on energy produced overseas. She argues that Britain will need oil and gas for many years and should produce as much as possible domestically rather than paying other countries such as Norway or Saudi Arabia to extract it.
The Conservatives would end Labour's ban on new licences, scrap the Energy Profits Levy and give the North Sea regulator a clear mission to maximise Britain's own resources, she writes. Badenoch frames the issue as broader than two oil fields, claiming that making energy more expensive has pushed industry, investment and emissions overseas.
Rosebank decision still needed
Badenoch says importing gas while refusing to develop domestic supplies is not energy security but managed decline. She accuses Burnham of already chickening out of big decisions under pressure from Ed Miliband's green ideology and his own backbenchers, describing it as the same old Labour Party in a black T-shirt.
She concludes that Rosebank still needs a decision and Jackdaw needs confirming now so the North Sea has a future, urging Burnham to prove his promises of pragmatism were real when Parliament returns this week. Being Prime Minister, she says, is about making difficult choices, not avoiding them.
