"The House of Commons voted 108 to 323, majority 215, to throw out a Tory amendment to the King's Speech which pressed ministers to approve drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields. In the King's Speech, the Government reiterated its manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields. Under its Energy Independence Bill it intends to accelerate the development of offshore wind, hydrogen and grid technologies."
"Existing oil and gas fields will stay open for their lifetime, under Labour's plans. "We're not in favour of a 'turning off the taps' position but, I'll just be honest with the House, nor are we in favour of a drilling every last drop," Mr Miliband said. The Bill will also give offshore workers in renewables the same employment rights as their counterparts in the oil and gas sectors, he said."
"Ms Coutinho said the Government's position would leave the UK "more reliant on higher-emission gas from Qatar or the US", or funnelling "billions of pounds to Norway to import gas from the very same basin" in the North Sea. She added: "This is the single greatest act of industrial self-harm we have seen in a generation. "Only a complete whacko would respond to a supply shortage by shutting down their own oil and gas industry.""
"Energy secretary Ed Miliband defended his party's approach, telling MPs £90bn (€104bn) of private investment had gone towards "clean energy" since the 2024 general election. Ms Coutinho accused Labour whips of telling MPs to "vote to shut down the North Sea". Ms Coutinho warned during the debate in the Commons that "only a complete whacko" would scale down North Sea oil and gas production."
UK MPs rejected a Conservative amendment urging ministers to approve drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields. The House of Commons voted 108 to 323, with Labour reiterating its manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields. Labour plans to keep existing oil and gas fields open for their lifetime while accelerating offshore wind, hydrogen, and grid technologies through its Energy Independence Bill. Labour’s energy secretary said £90bn of private investment had gone to clean energy since the 2024 election and said the approach was not about “turning off the taps.” The Bill would also extend employment rights for offshore renewables workers to match those in oil and gas. The opposition warned the policy would increase reliance on higher-emission gas imports and called it industrial self-harm.
#uk-parliament #north-sea-oil-and-gas #energy-independence-bill #offshore-wind-and-hydrogen #clean-energy-investment
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