Ed Miliband is expected to block fresh oil drilling in the North Sea despite growing pressure to resume production to combat the energy crisis sparked by the Iran war. The Telegraph has the story.
The Energy Secretary is understood to be resisting the development of Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oil field, estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil.
He is against new drilling licences despite concerns over impending fuel shortages, surging oil prices and diminishing stocks.
Despite growing pressure from opponents and his own Cabinet, including Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, Miliband has also delayed a decision on a licence to drill at the Jackdaw gas field, which it is estimated could produce the equivalent of 6% of the UK’s future gas supply.
The move delays the decision until after the May local elections, which could trigger a Labour leadership battle where he has been mooted as a potential contender. On Friday, Miliband’s aides dismissed as “unfounded” suggestions that he was minded to approve Jackdaw.
Any block on North Sea drilling puts him at odds with not only Kemi Badenoch, who this week launched a “Get Britain Drilling” campaign, and Nigel Farage’s Reform, but also the SNP, whose leader, John Swinney, on Thursday reversed the nationalist party’s opposition to further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
Swinney said the Iran war had changed the “balance of the arguments”. Speaking at a Holyrood election hustings, the Scottish First Minister said “energy security” had to be taken into account when deciding whether developments such as Rosebank oilfields and the Jackdaw gas project were allowed to proceed.
Robert Jenrick, Reform’s Treasury spokesman, told the Telegraph: “Keir Starmer needs to grow a backbone, overrule Ed Miliband and open up both Jackdaw and Rosebank immediately. It is completely mad that we are choosing not to exploit our own resources in the middle of an energy crisis.”
There is also a growing split within Labour. Unions led by the GMB have been vocal in their calls for the Government to give the go-ahead to both fields.
The Chancellor has also indicated that she supported increased drilling in the North Sea, saying this week she would be “very happy” to support extraction at Rosebank and Jackdaw because of the positive effect on “jobs and tax revenue”.
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said he believed the licences should be approved. Asked whether he believed Mr Miliband, who is seen as hostile to fossil fuels, was doing a good job, Sarwar said: “Yes, but there’s work to do.”
He added: “We made a commitment before the election that we would honour licences that were granted. The licences then have come into question – we should honour those licences.”
Sir Keir Starmer has refused to comment on the Jackdaw scheme, citing the fact that it is a quasi-judicial decision for Miliband.
However, Downing Street is said to be acutely aware that public opinion on further drilling has been shifting as a result of the crisis in the Middle East.
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