Tories call Burnham ‘too chicken’ to approve new oil and gas fields

Rhiannon James and David Lynch, Press Association Political Staff

Andy Burnham is “too chicken” to approve the controversial Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields, the Tories have claimed.

Production had been approved by the previous Conservative government, but those decisions were quashed after a legal challenge by Greenpeace, leaving Labour ministers to decide whether drilling should go ahead.

The Prime Minister has faced pressure from climate activists to “stick to the spirit of Labour’s manifesto commitment” and refuse consent.

Mr Burnham has previously said he would “take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea”, indicating a possible change in the party’s approach to drilling.

Rosebank is the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea which lies some 80 miles north-west of Shetland, meanwhile Jackdaw lies in waters about 150 miles east of Aberdeen.

Public consultations on both sites closed earlier this month, with the Government expected to make a decision in September.

Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho accused Mr Burnham of “shirking decisions” on the North Sea during a press conference in London on Wednesday.

She said: “I actually think this is worse than the Ed Miliband position because Andy Burnham knows that it’s right to sign off those two fields, he’s just too chicken to do it.

“And the truth is, the gas that you get from the North Sea has far fewer emissions than the gas that you import from overseas. So it’s actually better for climate, for us, to use our own.”

The Tory frontbencher said the UK’s “hot and heavy pursuit” of net zero is giving other countries “the ick”, adding: “The truth is that our problems in energy are a symptom of something wider in politics.

“We’ve handed more and more of our powers to unaccountable bodies who pay no price for being wrong. Too much of politics has become interested in the optics than doing the hard yards of working out the best route for the country and then seeking to persuade.

“That’s why we end up with Andy Burnham shirking decisions on the North Sea, even though he knows our homegrown gas is much cleaner than importing high-emission gas from abroad.”

Ms Coutinho laid out her party’s case for planning to ditch net zero after Tory leader Kemi Badenoch declared the 2050 target impossible.

Reaching net zero by 2050, the policy aimed at balancing out the amount of greenhouse gases with those being removed from the atmosphere, was introduced by the Conservative government under Theresa May in 2019.

Mr Miliband, now the Foreign Secretary, continued the drive towards net zero as energy secretary, followed by Miatta Fahnbulleh, since Labour came into power – and the party is aiming to make the grid 95% carbon-free by 2030.

Mrs Badenoch has vowed to scrap the policy, and is blocking Conservatives who support net zero from standing as parliamentary candidates in the next general election.

In her speech on Wednesday, Ms Coutinho insisted the UK “should focus all our attention on making electricity cheap, and then let consumer choice be king”.

The Conservatives commissioned Tory-leaning think tank Onward and advisory firm Transira Energy to compare the costs of a net zero electricity grid with one which prioritises cheap power through a mix of gas, more nuclear and fewer renewables.

The analysis by Onward suggested slowing the shift to renewable energy in favour of gas and nuclear will lower energy bills, saving families £540 a year.

Ms Coutinho said Mr Miliband is “intent on squeezing every last drop of carbon out of our electricity, no matter the cost”.

She added: “There are some who will say that the cost is worth it because it gives us climate leadership, but our high electricity prices are not convincing any other countries to follow our lead.

“In fact, it’s our hot and heavy pursuit of net zero that is giving the others the ick.”

She continued: “The truth is that too much wind and solar creates all of these extra hidden costs.

“It’s like a Ryanair flight. The ticket might look cheap, but once you’ve paid for a bag, a seat and a sandwich, you realise you’ve been stung.”

Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said: “Claire Coutinho was instrumental in growing the Department for Net Zero and famously said ‘nothing will distract us from achieving net zero’.

“Her report today is a stunning admission that her disastrous mistake sent bills spiralling and has made working people poorer.

“The British people are still awaiting an apology from her.

“The Tory party can never be trusted again to fix the energy system they broke.”

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