Andy Burnham is expected to relax the government’s restrictions on new oil and gas drilling when he becomes prime minister, according to reports. A decision to grant new licences for the practice in the North Sea would mark a departure from Labour’s 2024 manifesto, in which it pledged to honour existing licences but not issue new ones.
Party Divisions Over Drilling
The party has been divided over the issue, with trade unions and some Labour MPs urging Burnham to back the sector. Union officials have told him support for new drilling would send “a signal that the country remains committed to producing, building and manufacturing”.
Burnham will become prime minister on Monday, when he is expected to set out his policy agenda, including plans to take water and energy companies under public control and initiate a major council-house building programme. He is under pressure on North Sea drilling from the Conservatives and Reform UK, who support new oil and gas licences.
Conservative and Climate Perspectives
The Conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch, has previously suggested new licences could help reduce high energy bills, a claim strongly disputed by climate campaigners concerned about the environmental impact. Burnham’s team would not be drawn on the details of any proposals on Saturday, but the debate largely centres around two sites, Rosebank and Jackdaw, off the north-eastern coast of Scotland.
Licences for these sites were approved under the Conservatives, but overturned last year by a Scottish court, which ruled that the government would have to consider the environmental impact of the licences before agreeing to let new drilling go ahead.
Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuels
Some within Labour are strongly in favour of shifting the focus to renewable energy, which they believe will reduce the impact on the climate and provide more long-term security amid increasing global instability. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, a Burnham ally who is tipped for a senior role in his cabinet, has previously described the Rosebank licence as “climate vandalism”.
In March, the Guardian reported that hundreds of new North Sea licences granted by the Conservatives during their 14 years in power produced just 36 days of gas. The former energy secretary Claire Coutinho admitted in 2023 that new licences “wouldn’t necessarily bring energy bills down” but said they would improve the security of supply. Coutinho is now the shadow energy secretary.
Expert and Green Party Reactions
Experts, such as Greg Jackson, the chief executive of the green energy company Octopus, have argued that new North Sea gas licences would have little influence on prices as the UK is “highly integrated” with the European and global markets. The Green party criticised the possibility of new licences on Saturday, with the MP Adrian Ramsay saying “words are no substitute for actions” on the climate crisis.
He said: “With heatwaves causing deaths, wildfires and extreme weather across the country, approving new oil and gas drilling is exactly the wrong response and will do nothing to bring down energy bills. The science is clear: if we are serious about limiting climate breakdown, we cannot keep opening up new fossil fuel projects. Greens support a just transition that protects workers and communities while accelerating investment in renewable energy, not doubling down on the fuels driving the crisis.”
