Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on incoming prime minister Andy Burnham to support increased oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, stating that doing so would demonstrate common sense. Speaking during a visit to Aberdeen on Thursday, Badenoch argued that opening up new developments could generate billions of pounds for public services.
Badenoch Challenges Burnham on Energy Policy
Badenoch claimed that former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer could still be in power if he had overruled his Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, and approved new oil and gas fields. She said: “Perhaps if Keir Starmer had overruled Ed Miliband and done the right thing he might be in the job today. He might have found more money, he might have sent a signal to business that Labour understood them. It’s now time for Andy Burnham to show that he understands business.”
The Tory leader made her remarks after a roundtable meeting with oil and gas industry representatives in Aberdeen, where the Conservatives won a Westminster by-election last month. She described that by-election as a “referendum on drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.”
£4 Billion Tax Revenue at Stake
Badenoch directly addressed Burnham, stating: “There is £4 billion of tax revenue sitting in the North Sea he could get for himself in this Parliament to spend on public services. He should be doing that instead of taxing people more, taxing their homes, taxing their businesses.” She emphasized that the issue is about jobs, noting that many are being lost because the UK is not drilling its own oil and gas.
She criticized Burnham’s background as mayor of Manchester, suggesting he may wrongly assume that experience can be applied nationwide. “The big difference is when you are the mayor of Manchester you get money from the government, when you are prime minister you have to find the money,” Badenoch said. “What I want to see Andy Burnham talking about is where the money is coming from.”
Commitment to Aberdeen and Scotland
Badenoch highlighted her frequent visits to Aberdeen, calling it her second most visited city after Westminster. “That is because I care about what happens here. Every time I come to Aberdeen people tell me it is not the city it once was. And I want to champion these people, I want them to know I care about them and their jobs,” she said. “It’s not just at election time we turn up, we are here all the time, that is because we care about the city, we care about the jobs, we care about the livelihoods.”
When asked about the potential impact of Burnham’s premiership on Scotland, Badenoch replied: “I don’t know if Andy Burnham has been to Scotland recently.”
