Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has accused Prime Minister Andy Burnham of being "too chicken" to approve further North Sea oil and gas drilling, during a press conference on Wednesday.
Mr Burnham is reportedly delaying a decision on the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects due to concerns about how it would appear after a summer of heatwaves. The previous Tory government had approved the fields, but those decisions were quashed following a legal challenge by Greenpeace, leaving Labour to make the final call.
Tory Frontbencher Accuses PM of Shirking Decisions
Ms Coutinho said: "I actually think this is worse than the Ed Miliband position because Andy Burnham knows that it's right to sign off those two fields, he's just too chicken to do it." She added: "And the truth is, the gas that you get from the North Sea has far fewer emissions than the gas that you import from overseas. So it's actually better for the climate, for us, to use our own."
The Tory frontbencher argued that the UK's "hot and heavy pursuit" of net zero is giving other countries "the ick". She stated: "The truth is that our problems in energy are a symptom of something wider in politics. We've handed more and more of our powers to unaccountable bodies who pay no price for being wrong. Too much of politics has become interested in the optics than doing the hard yards of working out the best route for the country and then seeking to persuade."
Pressure Mounts on Burnham Over North Sea Projects
Mr Burnham has faced pressure from US President Donald Trump to push ahead with the drilling, but the move is opposed by climate campaigners and some Labour backbenchers. The Prime Minister has previously indicated he would "take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea," hinting he could support more drilling amid soaring energy bills.
Ms Coutinho concluded: "That's why we end up with Andy Burnham shirking decisions on the North Sea, even though he knows our homegrown gas is much cleaner than importing high-emission gas from abroad."
