Kemi Badenoch has delivered a fierce broadside against Prime Minister-in-waiting Andy Burnham as the row over the future of North Sea oil and gas drilling intensifies.
With the Labour leader expected to announce on Monday that he would approve the Scottish oil fields Jackdaw and Rosebank, Ms Badenoch accused Labour of having “wasted two years, lost thousands of jobs and missed out on billions of pounds” by hesitating over investment in the North Sea energy sector.
The Conservative leader warned that the expected decision would still not go far enough, urging Mr Burnham to scrap the ban on all future oil and gas developments.
It remains unclear whether Mr Burnham, who is expected to become Prime Minister tomorrow, is willing to move beyond Labour’s 2024 manifesto commitment not to issue new licences while respecting those already in place.
Andrew Bowie, the Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, also criticised Labour’s anticipated move, dismissing it as a “token gesture”.
The Rosebank and Jackdaw projects had previously been approved under the former Conservative government, but were later held up by legal challenges that triggered new environmental assessments.
After a fresh consultation launched this month, the Labour Government must now decide whether to give the developments final approval.
Ms Badenoch said: “Just two pieces of paper stand in the way of billions of pounds of tax revenues and enough gas to meet 10 per cent of our needs.
‘Because of Labour and the SNP we have wasted two years, lost thousands of jobs and missed out on billions of pounds in investment in the North Sea.
‘Rosebank and Jackdaw should have been producing by now with other developments queuing up to start drilling behind them.’
The announcement comes just weeks after the SNP suffered a humiliating defeat in the Aberdeen South by-election, which was billed by the Tories as a local referendum on oil and gas.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch has said she doesn’t believe Mr Burnham’s plans will go far enough
The future of oil and gas drilling in the North Sea was a pivotal argument at the centre of the recent Aberdeen South by-election
Mr Burnham is expected to announce he will approve the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields
However, Mr Burnham’s plans could put him on a collision course with his Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who previously described the licence issued to Rosebank as ‘climate vandalism’.
It will also enrage other MPs on Mr Burnham’s Left who want to prioritise Net Zero. In a further blow to Mr Miliband, insiders expect the incoming premier to wrest control of North Sea oil drilling away from him altogether.
Sources say his new business secretary, heavily tipped to be Jonathan Reynolds, will run Britain’s energy policy instead as part of a beefed up ‘Ministry for Industry’.
Enrique Cornejo – UK policy director for industry body Offshore Energies – said the development of Rosebank and Jackdaw alongside all the other North Sea resources, would help strengthen energy security, support skilled jobs and investment across the UK.
He said: ‘While we use oil and gas, it is common sense that we prioritise our own production, our own jobs, value in our economy, delivered with lower emissions than imports.’
The renewed debate comes as First Minister John Swinney faces growing pressure to back new North Sea drilling after one of his former top advisers publicly endorsed both Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Aberdeen Central MSP Jack Middleton, who served as a special adviser to Mr Swinney before last year’s Holyrood election, last week declared his support for the two major projects.
He was joined by Aberdeen North MP Kirsty Blackman, the SNP’s chief whip at Westminster, in backing the developments.
Despite that, the Scottish Government has still not confirmed whether it supports Rosebank and Jackdaw ahead of key licensing decisions. The SNP’s Westminster group has also declined to clarify its official position.
The Scottish Government said its ministers are calling for North Sea oil and gas projects ‘to be assessed on a case by case basis with climate compatibility and energy security as key considerations, and for the UK Government to replace the Energy Profits Levy with a fair system’.
