Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said it is “absolutely essential” that a decision on the Rosebank and Jackdaw oilfields is made as soon as possible. Consultations for both developments have closed in recent weeks, and ministers are now set to decide their future in what is seen as a key environmental test for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Jobs and climate concerns
While 3,500 construction jobs could be created, and 880 for the life of the fields, environmental activists have raised concerns about the climate impact. Speaking during a visit to a farm in East Lothian on Friday, Badenoch said the government’s “heart’s not really in it”.
Badenoch's warning on gas supply
When asked if the decision should be made as soon as possible, she said: “It’s absolutely essential. If this decision had been made earlier in the summer, we could have had gas from Jackdaw in people’s homes by this winter, by Christmas. All of the gas that’s drilled in the North Sea is used in this country and Labour has been kicking this decision into the long grass because their heart’s not really in it. They don’t know how to actually make energy cheaper, they don’t know how to get genuine tax revenue, and all they’re doing is increasing taxes, destroying businesses. A commonsense approach is to make sure that we drill our own oil and gas in the North Sea, get the tax revenue from that instead of importing oil and gas from countries that drill it in a very dirty way, which is actually increasing carbon emissions.”
