John Healey's Budget has been thrown into chaos after it emerged that its official forecasts rely on revenue from the Rosebank oil field, a project the Government may block. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is reported to be leaning toward rejecting the project, which has not yet been approved. Critics warn the discrepancy could blow a hole in the public finances and leave taxpayers facing further tax increases, with taxes already at their highest level since the end of World War Two.
Minister admits figures may need republishing
The issue was exposed in the House of Lords, where peers heard that the Budget figures may now have to be revised. Energy minister Baroness Curran admitted that the Office for Budget Responsibility would "have to republish the figures if Rosebank does not go ahead and it will need to be addressed."
The OBR's forecast, published alongside the Budget, predicts the Government will collect £5.1 billion from oil and gas taxes in 2026-27. That figure covers existing fields, but also incorporates the North Sea Transition Authority's estimate of production from potential new projects, such as Rosebank, and future discoveries.
Political fallout over the Budget
Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie criticised the government's position, saying: "Labour is all over the place on Rosebank. The OBR's forecasts assume its approval, yet the Energy Secretary wants to block the very project those forecasts rely on." He added that if Rosebank does not go ahead, it would blow an even bigger hole in the public finances and taxpayers would pay the price in higher taxes.
The row also puts the spotlight on Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and her predecessor, Ed Miliband, now Foreign Secretary, who once branded Rosebank "climate vandalism."
On Wednesday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the economic plan as "not good enough, not strong enough, not bold enough." Mr Healey defended the Budget, telling MPs: "This is a Budget for the working people of Britain. It's a Budget for business, big and small." Robert Jenrick, Reform UK's Treasury spokesman, said: "Is that it? A hundred days of Andy Burnham, and this is all he had to offer: a nothing-burger Budget, served up in the middle of a national economic emergency."
