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Andy Burnham will announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea when he becomes prime minister on Monday, the BBC has been told.<\/b><\/p>\n
The Labour Party’s 2024 manifesto – which the new leader said he would follow – had pledged to not issue new licences but to honour existing ones.<\/p>\n
At the heart of the debate are two oil and gas fields in Scotland – Rosebank and Jackdaw – which regulators approved in 2022 and 2023 under the then Conservative government, but were overturned in 2025 after a legal challenge.<\/p>\n
The announcement will form part of a flurry of measures from Burnham, including plans to take water and energy companies under public control and a new council house-building programme.<\/p>\n
While details of the new oil and gas plans are not clear, the North Sea row is <\/b>increasingly divisive as Labour figures debate the party’s future direction over energy policy.<\/p>\n
Some Labour MPs have urged the government to take a more liberal approach, warning that the transition away from oil and gas must protect jobs and the cost of energy bills.<\/p>\n
But others have backed the government’s existing approach, arguing that expanding renewable energy is key to improving energy security and reducing the impact on climate change.<\/p>\n
Current Energy Secretary Ed Miliband – who is likely to get a senior cabinet role under Burnham – has been a staunch supporter of Labour’s manifesto position, and previously described the licence issued to Rosebank as “climate vandalism”.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, before the leadership nominations deadline, Burnham was issued with a letter from the oil and gas industry and trade unions calling on him – and all other Labour MPs – to “back North Sea oil and gas”.<\/p>\n
It stated that support for the oil and gas industry is “a signal that the country remains committed to producing, building and manufacturing.<\/p>\n
“It is a signal that government backs the people and places that have powered this country for generations,” the letter added.<\/p>\n
Burnham, who returned to Parliament a month ago in a by-election, cemented his status as the sole leadership candidate after being backed by 379 Labour MPs, as well as all 11 trade unions affiliated to the party, earlier this week.<\/p>\n
The new Labour leader has said he is finalising his top cabinet jobs before he takes over from Sir Keir on Monday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n