The Prime Minister has faced backlash for a decision taken on Wednesday morning.
Andy Burnham facing Labour civil war. (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham faces a Labour civil war following his decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field. Several backbench MPs have hit out at his decision to greenlight the development in the North Sea. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh backed the scheme, which is expected to start supplying gas to British homes and firms within weeks.
But a backbencher accused Ms Fahnbulleh of having “left her moral compass behind and given in to the oil and gas lobby” and of arguing that Burnham has now given the Greens their “General Election attack lines and [will] cost Labour seats.”
The approval ends months of speculation about the future of the Jackdaw project, which owner Adura said could deliver around 6% of UK North Sea gas production. Ms Fahnbulleh said the move will “support the country’s energy security with homegrown gas this winter”, although she acknowledged it would not bring down household bills.
Labour MP Alex Sobel said: “My view hasn’t changed. Jackdaw won’t draw gas for many years. It won’t make an impact on global prices and will give mixed messages in terms of investment of both renewables and decarbonisation of home heating.”
Gas is expected to start flowing by the end of the month after Ms Fahnbulleh agreed that the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, could approve the scheme.
Mr Burnham said the decision will “protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm”, but stressed it would not hinder the Government’s targets on renewable energy.
He said: “At a time when people are really struggling, it’s right that we look in a responsible way at maximising the existing energy reserves we have in Britain that could help.
“We’re committed to moving towards renewable energy and reaching net zero by 2050.
“But even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come.”
The Prime Minister said he was taking a “pragmatic” approach to the North Sea. Labour’s 2024 manifesto committed to issuing no new oil and gas licences for the North Sea.
But proponents of Jackdaw and Rosebank within the party have argued that neither are new fossil fuel fields, given the wheels were in motion to tap them ahead of Labour coming to power.