Andy Burnham has said he will take a “pragmatic” approach to oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, saying the government could not ignore the potential energy resources it holds.
The prime minister’s comments came in response to a question about his conversation with Donald Trump on his first day in No 10. Trump had said Burnham told him he would “open up” North Sea oil, something the UK summary of the call made no mention of.
Questioned by reporters during a defence-related visit to Cumbria about what he had said to the US president, Burnham replied: “I indicated in the phone call that we had, a week last Monday, that I would take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea, and that is my intention as we go forward from here.
“There is a resource there. When people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president.”
It remains unclear whether such an approach would involve allowing more drilling on existing licences or the issuing of new ones. Labour’s 2024 election manifesto ruled out the latter action, and Burnham has said he will stick to the promises in the document.
Any move to even stretch the manifesto pledge would probably anger a number of Labour MPs, including Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary, who is now foreign secretary.
This is particularly the case given Burnham’s hint toward a more relaxed approach came on the same day firefighters battled a major heathland fire in Suffolk and a day after half of England was declared to be officially in drought.
Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green party in England and Wales, condemned Burnham’s comments, saying it was particularly alarming during a period of drought and wildfires.
“Allowing new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea will worsen the climate breakdown,” said Polanski, “putting more lives at risk and doing untold damage to our economy. It’s not too late for Burnham to do the right thing and commit to leaving dangerous fossil fuels in the ground.”
A key decision will be what to do with the Jackdaw gasfield, east of Aberdeen, and the Rosebank oilfield, west of Shetland. Campaigners have warned that approving these would break the manifesto pledge and official consultations are still taking place.
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There is speculation that some new projects could be allowed if they are tiebacks: a form of approval where new fields are connected to already-approved facilities through pipelines. It could be argued this approach does not breach the manifesto.
Miliband once described Rosebank as “climate vandalism”. Miatta Fahnbulleh, who replaced him as energy secretary, has expressed similar views, but has also said she would be pragmatic about the idea of drilling.
Speaking on Wednesday about his conversation with Burnham – who he referred to as “the new gentleman” – Trump said: “Well, he did say one very good thing. He said he’s going to open up North Sea oil. If he does that, you’re going to be a wealthy country.”
