Andy Burnham is facing immediate pressure to uphold Labour’s manifesto pledge and reject further North Sea drilling, following reports that he may support new oil and gas projects.
Allies of the new Labour leader say he plans to launch his premiership with a “dynamic” opening on Monday, when he formally succeeds Keir Starmer.
Speaking in Downing Street, Mr Burnham is expected to outline measures designed to create “breathing space” for households struggling with living costs and spread economic growth across every part of the UK. The substance of those proposals, however, remains uncertain.
Reports suggest his approach could include approving fresh oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, with the incoming prime minister described as “open-minded” about the prospect.
Senior Green Party figures today called on Mr Burnham 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 those words must be matched by action.
“At a time when heatwaves are bringing deaths, wildfires and extreme weather across the country, approving new oil and gas drilling would be precisely the wrong response and would not reduce energy bills.”
The intervention follows a concerted lobbying campaign over the past week, during which energy industry leaders and trade union chiefs published an open letter urging Labour MPs to support North Sea oil and gas.
They said domestic production would curb dependence on fossil fuels imported from “volatile regions”, where extraction carries higher emissions, and argued that it represented a “more responsible choice for the climate”.
Enrique Cornejo, of industry association Offshore Energies UK, said: “As long as we continue using oil and gas, common sense dictates that we prioritise domestic production, protect our own jobs and retain value in our economy, while producing with lower emissions than imports.”
Andy Burnham has started receiving national security briefings before his formal appointment
Critics of expanded drilling argue that the nature of the global oil market means additional North Sea production would not lower household energy bills, while the reserves themselves are costlier to extract.
Nor is there any assurance that newly produced North Sea oil would remain in Britain, which already exports most of the oil extracted from its waters.
Amy Cameron, programme director at Greenpeace UK, said authorising new drilling while the UK was “literally on fire” would amount to “a massive own goal”.
She said: “The science could not be clearer: our best chance of securing a future with bearable temperatures and a flourishing green economy rests on rapidly moving away from fossil fuels.
“Abandoning that course to extract the final drops from a declining oilfield — without lowering bills, creating many jobs or guaranteeing energy security — would be an act of sheer folly.”
North Sea oil remained a persistent fault line throughout Mr Starmer’s premiership. Conservative support for further drilling helped the party secure its first parliamentary by-election victory in Scotland for almost 50 years last month.
Backing new projects could also make Mr Burnham’s selection of a chancellor more difficult, with the Labour leader saying yesterday that no decision had yet been reached.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is believed to be among the leading contenders and has strongly defended Labour’s manifesto promise on the North Sea. Other reports indicate that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood could instead be chosen for the pivotal post.
Addressing the country for the first time as Labour leader, Mr Burnham warned that the party was confronting its “last chance to change”, while pledging to “bring back hope”.
He will enter Downing Street after Keir Starmer travels to Buckingham Palace on Monday to submit his resignation to Britain’s King Charles.
Mr Burnham will then meet the king to “kiss hands” and receive an invitation to form a government, before setting out his vision for the country from Downing Street.
Preparations are already under way. Mr Burnham has begun receiving national security briefings and has spoken with officials about his priorities in government and the first engagements he will attend as prime minister.
Badenoch calls Burnham ‘a people pleaser’
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch has attacked Mr Burnham for failing to reveal his plans before Monday, dismissing his public remarks to date as “airy-fairy stuff”.
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, the Conservative leader said she viewed Mr Burnham as “a people pleaser”, not a politician prepared to take “tough decisions”.
Mr Burnham has promised to work across party lines and bring an end to Westminster’s culture of political “point scoring”.
Mrs Badenoch, however, said she would “score as many points as possible if it means the right thing for the country”.
She added: “What I will not do is hand Andy Burnham a blank cheque. He is a man who does not want scrutiny or difficult questions; he simply wants to be a people pleaser.”
