Andy Burnham faces revolt over North Sea oil and gas as Kemi tells PM ‘time to get Britain drilling’

Andy Burnham is facing a clash with his MPs over North Sea oil and gas drilling after the Tories urged him to back new projects.

The Prime Minister is due to decide whether to approve extraction from two major fields in Scotland.

But the decision is likely to trigger a revolt from his MPs and will become one of the first major tests of his premiership.

Reports suggest that he is likely to approve the Jackdaw site but may not grant permission for the Rosebank oilfield following opposition by his MPs.

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called for him to approve both, tweeting: ‘It’s time to get Britain drilling again.’

‘Andy Burnham should approve Jackdaw and Rosebank,’ she posted on X.

‘He should do it for the people of Aberdeen and hundreds of thousands more whose jobs and livelihoods depend on the North Sea.

‘He should do it for the families across Britain struggling with rising energy costs. He should do it because energy security is national security. It’s time to get Britain drilling again.’

The Tories have warned that failing to approve the two projects would push the oil and gas sector in the UK closer to extinction.

Developers say they could support more than 3,500 jobs and generate more than £20billion for the UK economy.

But a spokesman for Mr Burnham said the decision was in the hands of Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and would not say when it would be made.

The consultation periods for both projects has now closed, meaning a decision is imminent over the contentious issue.

Mr Burnham has previously told President Trump that he wants to be ‘pragmatic’ over drilling in the North Sea.

Last week he told the BBC: ‘We won’t be able to stop using oil and gas for some time, that’s just a fact.

‘The question is whether we can accelerate use of it so that we pay for the transition, and one thing helps the other… whether that extraction can be the bridge to the clean energy future we need, and bring it forward.’

Labour MPs including Cat Eccles have called for him to back renewable energy rather than approving further drilling.

She said he had been in ‘listening mode’ when he visited her Stourbridge constituency, which has been affected by wildfires, on Friday.

Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, said that the government had never intended to ‘turn the taps off’ in the North Sea.

He told the BBC: ‘It’s never been our position to turn the taps off entirely and immediately, but it’s obviously also not our position to drill every drop.’

Bosses at Adura, the company behind the projects, said they would bring in £10.8billion of investment and more than three quarters was expected to be spent in the UK.

They said extraction from the fields had the potential to make up 10per cent of domestic natural gas production.

Rosebank alone is projected to produce about 69,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, they added.

But environmentalists claim Rosebank will produce more than 250 million tonnes of CO₂, the equivalent of 70 per cent of UK annual emissions.

A spokesman for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said: ‘The North Sea remains a vital national asset, supporting jobs, growth and the UK’s energy security.

‘We are clear that oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come, alongside transitioning to clean power to protect jobs and tackle the climate crisis.’