Andy Burnham has indicated a potential shift in Labour's energy policy, saying he told US President Donald Trump that the UK “can't ignore” North Sea oil. The Prime Minister made the remark during a phone call on his first day in office.
Pragmatic approach to North Sea
Burnham, asked on Thursday during a visit to Barrow in Cumbria whether Trump was correct in saying the Prime Minister would “open up North Sea oil”, said: “I indicated in the phone call that we had a week last Monday that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here. There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can't ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president.”
Labour's 2024 manifesto said the party would not issue new North Sea licences, but Burnham appeared to leave the door open to a change. Ed Miliband, the former energy and net zero secretary under Sir Keir Starmer and a strong supporter of the election pledge, has now taken the Foreign Secretary role. His successor, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has said the manifesto is clear there is scope to exploit existing licences and that oil and gas are “part of the mix” – but would not be drawn on whether there are plans to go further.
Calls to approve Jackdaw and Rosebank
The Burnham Government is also facing calls from the energy sector to approve the Jackdaw gasfield east of Aberdeen and Rosebank oilfield west of Shetland. Campaigners have warned that doing so would break the Labour manifesto. Consultations on the projects are due to run until August 10 and August 17 respectively, with the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (Opred) due to make a recommendation to the UK Government after that.
Trump's comments
Trump had already talked up a change in policy before Burnham took office. Referring to their conversation, Trump said on Wednesday: “Well, he did say one very good thing. He said he's going to open up North Sea oil. If he does that, you're going to be a wealthy country.” He added that the UK has two problems: immigration and energy, criticising wind turbines as “windmills” made in China. “You have one of the most valuable oil finds anywhere in the world, and if the United Kingdom would use it, they'd be a wealthy country again. And I tell you what, I could not get Starmer to use it. It was incredible.”
