by Will Jones
Sir Keir Starmer has said it is Ed Miliband’s decision whether Britain drills for oil and gas in the North Sea, claiming he has no power in the matter. The Telegraph has more.
The Prime Minister claimed he had no power to approve more licences and insisted that the final call lay with the Energy Secretary.
Labour is under mounting pressure – including from Donald Trump – to approve new extraction at Rosebank and Jackdaw, two fossil fuel sites in the North Sea, after the Iran war caused energy costs to spiral.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, said that Sir Keir could make the decision to drill today and accused him of “hiding behind” Miliband.
Critics have already claimed that Miliband wields too much power over the Prime Minister after he successfully led opposition to the UK allowing the US to strike Iran from British bases.
Despite the energy crisis, Miliband has reiterated his vocal opposition to North Sea drilling, arguing repeatedly that it would not bring down prices.
When Badenoch challenged Sir Keir to approve the licences, the Prime Minister insisted that current laws prevented him from overruling the Energy Secretary.
Sir Keir suggested any move by Miliband to drill would be a legal decision rather than political, saying: “It’s absolutely clear that the quasi-judicial duty of the legislation rests with the Secretary of State.”
He added: “The only way forward is to go further and faster on renewables and the leader of the Opposition’s approach is to outsource our foreign policy and let the US decide whether we go to war, to outsource our energy policy to Russia and Iran and let them set the price of energy. I will never do that, because it’s not in the British national interest.”
Badenoch had questioned whether it was Sir Keir or Miliband, who has been touted as a potential leadership contender, who was really in charge.
The Tory leader said: “The Jackdaw gas field could be up and running before winter. All that gas would be used here in the UK to heat 1.6 million homes – that is enough to power Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex put together.
“So will the Prime Minister approve the licences or is the Energy Secretary running the Government?”
Badenoch added: “He is hiding behind so many people. He is the Prime Minister, he can make the decision today, he can. He is so weak, he’s the first person to be pushed around by the Energy Secretary.”
She later shared an image of Sir Keir with his head in his hands shortly after PMQs with the caption: “TFW [that feeling when] Ed Miliband is running the Government.”
Worth reading in full.
tweedle dee and tweedle dumb
tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber
I know nothing of the legalities. Is the PM correct that the legal responsibility lies solely with the Energy Secretary? In the US, whatever legal responsibility is vested in department heads, they do what the President wants them to do, unless they want to be fired. The only exception I know of is Special Prosecutors, but those are for exceptional criminal prosecutions, not ordinary stuff like issuing drilling permits.
In the UK, the PM is essentially the Chair of a committee, while a Secretary of State has ultimate responsibility for the actions of their department and must answer questions from MPs and peers.
No one person has the power to impose a policy, it’s collective responsibility, so as per usual Karmer is talking through his arse.
“Arse” or “ass”…. methinks some northern lingo expressed there???!!….. whatever the case, I think pretty much all of them emit something more akin to flatulence, than sense!
“Arse” vulgar, slang term
1. the buttocks: 2. the anus (arsehole): 3. a stupid person, a fool, a dull fellow, a dolt.
“Ass” As above, but also … a Donkey, a hardy and sure-footed animal, smaller and with longer ears than the horse ( when mated with a horse produces a Mule).
So when playing Donkey Kong you actually play Ass Kong?
Perhaps – unless you’re playing with my mother around. Despite growing up on a farm, she insisted we call male bovines “Mr. Bull” because ‘bull’ was just a short version of ‘bull shit’ (I guess).
As a child, I didn’t know what an oxymoron was, but I still couldn’t wrap my head around the word “Mr. Cow”. I usually forgot what I was trying to say as I tried to make sense of that eponym.
A bit IIRC here – it was way back in BC when I read Winston Churchill’s “Great Contemporaries”. In the chapter on Lord Asquith it was mentioned that a requirement as a good prime minister was “to be a good butcher”.
Sounds like Starmer would have trouble butchering a lettuce leaf
Technically true, but it’s the PM who appoints the ministers, and he can also dismiss them at will, so the reality is that all decisions can be made or overridden by the PM, and if the minister doesn’t like it, he can resign.#
Really, it comes down to the PM’s personal standing in parliament, if it were Blair, Cameron, Boris, or any other PM I can think of, the decision would already have been made, but Starmer is in an incredibly weak position because he’s a terrible PM who avoids difficult decisions, and can’t stick to them when he does make them.
Yep, Starmer is either the boss or he isn’t. He needs to make up his mind. But, then, he was always indecisive and good at U-turns…
But perhaps he prefers to have Minibrain inside the tent, pissing out, than the other way round.
Where’s Maggie when she’s needed most?
Nobody would ever accuse her of being trans, but she did have balls.
Collective? Sounds Marxist to me.
Who appointed Millibrand?…and can’t the person who appointed him fire him?
The Prime Minister can sack Miliband but Parliament, by a simple majority, can sack the Prime Minister and appoint a successor. That successor could be Miliband or anybody who can win the support of a majority Parliament.
In the UK, the PM is essentially the Chair of a committee
No, this is not true. He is the chair, but he is also the one who appoints all the members. They all serve at his pleasure.
He also exercises the Crown Prerogatives. This is another key difference from a chair of a committee. What was left of these after 1688 gradually migrated to being the preroragives of the PM of the government of the day, which means in practice of the PM. The polite fiction is that their exercise consists of the PM advising his sovereign to do certain things. The convention is that this advice is always followed immediately. As for instance a dissolution of Parliament.
A prime Minister can impose policy but if that policy is not supported by a majority of Parliament then the law required to implement policy cannot be passed and the position of the Prime Minister becomes untenable.
Even if the legal responsibility lies with the energy secretary, the PM can direct him, and if he refuses, sack him and replace him with someone who will approve the oil and gas developments (and ressurect coal)
On his desk, he has a placard saying “The buck passes through here”.
I could have sworn the notice says “The buck bypasses this desk”.
I think your evaluation is far better 🙂
Procedurally Keir is correct, politically as PM he can dictate policy changes but he is now the walking dead with no authority left, leaving the cabinet especially Miliband are in charge, He is now only PM by being in a job nobody currently wants but all do at some point in the future.
No, the PM is not correct. Its constitutional illiteracy, which is astonishing in someone who was the Director of Public Prosecutions and a well regarded barrister. Its so astonishing that it is more plausible that he knows its nonsense and is saying it anyway than that he genuinely believes what he is quoted as saying.
The principle of UK Government goes back to 1688 – the Glorious Revolution. The head of state, at present Charles III, invites some parliamentarian to form a government. This means become Prime Minister and appoint a cabinet of ministers and get legislation through the Commons. The basis for the invitation is that the person can command a working majority in the Commons. This is what enables his government to govern.
Over the 18th and 19 centuries a consensus emerged that this meant that the leader of a party with a Commons majority would be invited. Or, if none did, the leader of the largest party which could form an alliance which had a majority- as happened with Cameron and Clegg a decade ago.
Ministers serve at the discretion of the Prime Minister, and he has the legal power to dismiss any of them at any time for any or no reason. You see this in action in the UK in the form of the Cabinet Reshuffle, which happens at some mid point in most governments, and which involves the PM reallocating responsibilities within the Cabinet and other ministerial posts. So you could be, for instance, Minister of Defence in the miorning, and that evening be in charge of the Home Office.
Of course, those appointed do have to agree to serve in the position, so there is often during the first stages of government formation and reshuffle a lot of bargaining. Ed Miliband is reported to have refused to resitn from his current post, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero when Starmer attempted to move him. But legally he could not refuse to resign, the fact that Starmer gave way is only a sign of Starmer’s weakness and fear of a leadership challenge.
Starmer can also ensure his desired policies are followed by any department. All he had to do was appoint someone who undertook to implement them.
In Canada it is ultimately the PM who decides policy. While they may hide behind a Cabinet member, we know who is making the decisions, and they will be forced to act if the public does not like a decision. In essence we have British Parliamentary operations, but this British PM seems to be able to hide behind little fiefdoms of his Ministers…is this because British Parliamentary life is filled with more powerful Ministerial fiefdoms than Canada?
What a coward
It’s a strategy to remain Prime Minister. He has successfully stayed in place despite many disasters which would have seen PMs facing votes of no confidence either in parliament or in their party a couple of decadesvago. He’s as slippery as an eel and I think still be PM at the next election.
Factcheck: Nine false or misleading myths about North Sea oil and gas
https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-nine-false-or-misleading-myths-about-north-sea-oil-and-gas/
Cos you really know
What about Sea Lion field (Port Stanley) ???
Anything from Carbon Brief can be dismissed instantly. Notoriously, Carbon Brief stated that wind power is nine times cheaper than gas. This ludicrous claim was then repeated ad nauseam by science denying climate alarmists including David Cameron, the former prime minister.
If Windpower were only 20% cheaper than gas it would have blown gas out of the markets long time ago,
as no-one would would even think about digging holes and building pipelines, storages and the rest of massive infrastructure which is a logistical nightmare
when setting up a windmill would do the job.
Strange, because almost all new capacity build is renewable. Looks like it’s really cheaper.
It might look that way because it is subsidised to the hilt by the bill/taxpayer.
You never answered me about the Sea Lion field. Did you not know of it? It’s ~800 million barrels worth.
With a consumption of 1.5 million a day a drop in the bucket.
Wrong on two counts.
The vast majority of new capacity world over is in fossil fuels and nuclear.
As always, you actually believe that government ordering people to do something is the equivalent of market forces.
I’m sure you have a source for that.
Apparently not.
We live in hope….
Try the IEA. Don’t be so lazy. If you don’t put in a little effort, you won’t appreciate the results.
Not in the US. Billions and billions are being spent on new NG pipelines and power plants, as well as nukes, while renewables are being cancelled or curtailed. Renewables are only being built under government edicts or using government funds. It’s all collapsing. Those states in the US that committed to a scheduled conversion to renewables are now facing impending energy crises.
US to overwhelmingly build clean power in 2026
https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/chart-us-overwhelmingly-build-clean-power
The primary country using wind and solar is China. They are not doing it because it is cheaper than ff.
China has two options: Option one, they could pay other countries $x for fossil fuels and $a to feed its billions of people. Option two, they could pay their own population $d to build solar and wind farms. The people could then buy their own food.
$d, solar and wind, is > than $x, fossil fuel costs. But $x + $a, the total of fossil fuel costs plus food, is greater than $d, solar and wind.
Life is complex. Too complex for you to grasp.
I like how you found out why countries build renewables.If you need to be smug about it be my guest.
It is possible (not necessarily cheaper) when fossil fuel plant/ mining/drilling permits cannot be obtained.
Paul Homewood, pulled that fairy tale to shreds. Oxford Uni morons.
Paul Homewood couldn’t pull a wet Kleenex to shreds
In my long life I have observed that ignorance goes hand in hand with arrogance. You are a classic example.
Another non-sensical “report” by activists that you are going to repeat over and over again until even you get tired of it.
Miliband is the real PM
Talking of disaster scenarios…
PM stands for Pulp Mill.
Pulp = A soft, moist, shapeless mass or matter.
Describes Keith Stammer quite well
PM stands for President Milliband.
Starmer didn’t even had a choice in terms of Mandelson(the whole selection procedure was a charade) despite being informed about his Epstein collection in time.
How can a spineless,neckless worm who is not even allowed to chose an ambassadeur
go against a secretary?
The interesting thing within the bigger scenario is that Starmer can easily go against 1his own population&industry,Russian ships or start wars,
but he is a helpless toddler when it comes to Millibrain, Zelensky etc.
Well, at least you know. Here in the US we had no idea who was in charge of the Federal government during the so-called Biden administration.
That is the defining concept of my political lifetime. “Nobody was in charge”, and it didn’t really matter much because “nobody knows” whether the alternative would have been better or worse. All ‘we’ have to show for it is an enormous public debt load that nobody wants to talk about.
My political lifetime has also been full of “Social Security will disappear before you get any” versus “People have been saying that for decades, don’t worry”. Nothing to do about it but wait and see.
If nothing is done to “fix” the projected Social Security shortfall SS won’t disappear, it just won’t pay out what you were promised. (we’re talking an automatic 30% or so cut in payments) as it will still be taking in money from every workers paycheck, it’s just that the amount of money coming in won’t be enough to cover 100% of the money promised to go out.
There are men like Mister Starmer all over the United States. Full of hot air, spineless, and dance around any tough questions.
Reminds me of a stand up comic on Netflix I saw years ago. The guy was very tall and extremely skinny and he could imitate those advertisement items perfectly. It was very funny watching him.
And I thought that Starmer was the Prime Minister (Albeit a pretty rotten one) and therefore in charge. Seems not. We are are being run by the lefty woke totalitarian world order whose purpose is marxism.
Starmer: “My brain is tied”.
Miliband: “There’s the cliff. Full speed ahead!”
Starmer says the only solution is to speed up installing more “renewables”.
This is called “doubling down on stupid”, in the real world.
The UK is in bad shape with clueless leaders such as Starmer and Miliband. It’s a crying shame.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell which one is Dumb and which is Dumber.
Keith Stalin is no leader. I think he’s more than proven that.
Right now he is a ricocheting pin ball – and no wizard.
They don’t do reality. Take heat pumps.
Since 2019 Government figures show that 204,174 heat pumps have been installed in the country. Peak year for this was 2025 when 51,886 were installed. However the greatest growth in installations was between 2023 and 2024 when an extra 16,284 were installed. Growth between 2024 and 2025 was only 3209.
Meanwhile over 22m homes in the country are on the gas network. Heat pump roll out just isn’t making any real inroads to that number.
Reflect on the fact that in a democracy the people get the government they deserve.
These idiots proudly proclaimed they have shut down fossil fuels in Great Britain, now all you proles sit down and shut up, you are getting what you moronically voted for.
Yeah, government by the stupid people is not working out too well.
There are a lot of stupid/misinformed/ignorant people in the world. Maybe too many to govern themselves properly in a Democracy.
Europe seems to have too many such voters. The United States has a little less than half of such voters. Will the U.S. go the way of the clueless voters of Europe? We’ll find out soon enough.
‘The United States has a little less than half of such voters.’
Nominally good news, but we had better get our butts in gear if we hope to prevail over what the Left has in store for us.
The real problem is that the voters are doing it wrong. The correct way is for the voter to vote for the candidate who best represents their views and who is at the same time intelligent, well informed and independent so that said candidate can remain true to their own conscience and so can truly represent all their constituents.
Even if such an MP turns out to be a bad apple they can do little harm because parliament makes its decisions by a majority
The current convention where candidate are preselected by political parties to represent party policy designed primarily to buy votes is the reason parliament is full of rubbish and functions accordingly.
So yes. The voter is the cause and the cure. Just as it should be in a democracy.
Where is Cromwell when we need him?
Cromwell actually started the whole mess with the illusion called democracy
that was so for the people, that British wars went up by 400% .
And no matter who the English voted for – the EIC got every war though people never voted for it.
And the remembrancer made sure that the political outcome was alway the one of the city of London.
“Cromwell actually started the whole mess with the illusion called democracy…”
I don’t know which alternate universe you hail from, SxyxS, but in the one I currently inhabit Oliver Cromwell was the revolutionary religious zealot who founded the English Republic in the 17th century, took the role of absolute dictator of it and ruled it singlehandedly (via the Army) for the rest of his life.
Hardly a democrat!
Keith has no power to do anything, including telling the truth. The man bends with the breeze.
Controlling the weather and climate is a very big job. Fortunately the UK has Miliband who is right on top of it.
One wonders if Starmer, is weak, or slimy enough to get ready to blame Miliband when it all goes tits up.
Or both…
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has the legal power to fire Ed Milliband from his cabinet at any time. He believes that would be politically untenable. If you look at the economic and energy situation in the UK, and the current polling, the Labour Party will lose all power and the UK devolve to third-world status if he doesn’t. They are now dependent on imports for both food and energy, have driven out most of their manufacturing, can no longer defend their country, and essentially have open borders. A country like that will not remain a sovereign nation for long.
Mad Red Ed is busy taking the Great out of Britain
it will not remain a liberal democracy for long, either.
There are two outcomes, one being that the electorate has a 1933 moment, and install an authoritarian right government. Not Farage, someone well to the right. The new government then passes enabling legislation to enable it to rule by decree, dissolves Parliament and does just that. Erects re-education camps in the Highlands well out of sight and considers banning Islam and expelling adherents to Madagascar.
The second is that the electoral system permits the re-election of a left government, but this one though calling itself Labour has been captured and is well to the left of Jeremy Corbyn, and is an alliance of far left groups like the Greens, Socialist Worker, Momentum, Extinction Rebellion, Militant – and also the Islamist tendency in the UK. The new government then passes enabling legislation to enable it to rule by decree, dissolves Parliament and does just that. Erects re-education camps in the Highlands well out of sight and opens talks with Madagascar, where it proposes relocating Zionists, And others.
“Despite the energy crisis, Miliband has reiterated his vocal opposition to North Sea drilling, arguing repeatedly that it would not bring down prices.”
Bizarre quote. Guy went to Oxford.
“His father Ralph was a Marxist academic whose father fled with him to England during the Second World War.”
Intuition reenforced – values come from home life, not from school life.
Who elected this Starmer? Doesn’t he look like a moron?
It is, however, up to Starmer whether to keep Miliband in post if he has a Cabinet reshuffle.
Of course, if he is a paid prostitute who doesn’t want the blame for unpopular Net Zero nonsense, then no-one should let him get away with his Pontius Pilatisms.