As Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street as prime minister, a brewing row over North Sea drilling is already testing his promise to govern from Labour’s manifesto amid claims he may be willing to approve new oil and gas projects.
Allies of the new Labour leader say he wants to hit the ground running with a “dynamic” start to his premiership on Monday, when he formally takes over from Keir Starmer.
In a speech in Downing Street, he is expected to outline measures designed to offer “breathing space” on the cost of living and spread economic growth across the UK, though his team has not yet set out the detail.
That lack of clarity has fuelled media reports suggesting Labour could sign off additional North Sea oil and gas drilling, with Mr Burnham described as being “open-minded” about the idea.
Such a move would cut directly across Labour’s 2024 manifesto — a programme Mr Burnham has pledged to uphold — which said the party would not issue new North Sea licences because they would “not take a penny off bills” or strengthen energy security, while speeding up climate change.
Senior figures in the Green Party on Sunday called on the incoming prime minister not to abandon what they described as “one of Labour’s flagship manifesto commitments”.
Green MP Adrian Ramsay said: “Andy Burnham says he takes the climate and nature crises seriously, but words are no substitute for action.
“With heatwaves causing deaths, wildfires and extreme weather across the country, approving new oil and gas drilling is exactly the wrong response and will do nothing to bring down energy bills.”
The intervention comes after a week of intensified lobbying for new licences, with energy industry leaders and trade union bosses signing an open letter urging Labour MPs to support continued North Sea oil and gas production.
They said the UK should reduce reliance on fossil fuel imports from “volatile regions”, arguing that imports can carry higher emissions and that domestic extraction represented a “more responsible choice for the climate”.
Enrique Cornejo, of industry association Offshore Energies UK, 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.”
Andy Burnham has begun to receive national security briefings ahead of his formal appointment
Critics of expanded drilling insist that because oil prices are set on a global market, extra North Sea production would not lower household energy bills — and they say the remaining reserves are typically more costly to extract.
They also point to the UK’s current production patterns, noting there is no guarantee additional North Sea oil would be used domestically when the country already exports most of the oil it produces.
Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK, said authorising more drilling would be “a massive own goal” as the UK was “literally on fire”.
She said: “The science is crystal clear: our only fighting chance at a future with bearable temperatures and a thriving green economy depends on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels.
“Turning our backs on that to squeeze out the last few drops from a dying oilfield – which will not lower our bills, create many new jobs or secure our energy supply – would be sheer folly.”
Disputes over North Sea oil became a recurring flashpoint during Mr Starmer’s premiership, and Conservative calls for more drilling helped the party secure its first parliamentary by-election victory in Scotland for almost 50 years last month.
Backtracking on new licences could also complicate Mr Burnham’s decision on who should serve as chancellor — a choice he said yesterday remained undecided.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is seen as one of the frontrunners and has strongly backed Labour’s manifesto stance on the North Sea, while reports have suggested Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could instead be in line for the job.
In his first speech after becoming Labour leader, Mr Burnham said the party faced its “last chance to change” and vowed to “bring back hope”.
He is due to become prime minister after Keir Starmer travels to Buckingham Palace on Monday to tender his resignation to the Britian’s King Charles.
Mr Burnham will then meet the king to “kiss hands” and be asked to form a government, before setting out his plans for the country from Downing Street.
He has already started receiving national security briefings ahead of his formal appointment and has spoken with officials about his early priorities and the first engagements he will attend as prime minister.
Badenoch brands Burnham ‘a people pleaser’
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch accused Mr Burnham of keeping voters in the dark about his programme before Monday, dismissing his remarks so far as “airy-fairy stuff”.
The Conservative leader told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg she believed Mr Burnham was “a people pleaser” rather than someone prepared to take “tough decisions”.
Mr Burnham has said he wants to work across party lines and to end what he calls a Westminster culture of political “point scoring”.
But Mrs Badenoch said she would “score as many points as possible if it means the right thing for the country”.
She added: “What I’m not going to do is give Andy Burnham a blank cheque. This is a man who doesn’t want scrutiny, he doesn’t want anyone asking him tough questions, he just wants to be a people pleaser.”
