Burnham Plans New North Sea Drilling in Break With Manifesto
Andy Burnham will announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling once in office, a shift from Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge to issue no new licences. Green figures and campaigners rounded on him within hours, while industry and unions welcomed the move. Sources stress that no final decision has been made and that the plan may come after his first day.
The flashpoint is the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields off Scotland, approved under the Conservatives, then overturned in 2025, with live consultations closing in August limiting what Mr Burnham can approve immediately. Backing new drilling could complicate his choice of Chancellor, given Mr Miliband’s staunch defence of the manifesto line. The Green MP Adrian Ramsay said approving new drilling was “exactly the wrong response” and would “do nothing to bring down energy bills”, while Offshore Energies UK argued it was “common sense” to prioritise domestic production and jobs. Watch whether Mr Burnham frames it as a change of emphasis or a genuine reversal.