Is Labour edging towards Donald Trump's ‘drill, baby, drill'?

Telegraph

25-03-2025

Is Labour edging towards an echo of Donald Trump's ' drill baby, drill ' over the party's policy on North Sea energy?
Or is it still 'fudge, fudge, fudge' over Ed Miliband's ban on Britain developing new fields?
The question arises because of the confusing situation where Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has called for 'new oil and gas' fields being used so that Britain did not have to buy expensive imports and which industry experts say would provide nearly half of Britain's energy needs for the next 25 years.
His comments came after it was claimed that developing new fields could provide a £150billion boost to the British economy.
However, Labour sources were at pains to say that there had been no change in the government's official policy, drawn up by the Energy Secretary, Mr Miliband, that only existing oil and gas fields could be developed and had banned new drilling.
Nevertheless, in his speech Mr Sarwar said that the British government had a choice between buying expensive imports from despotic regimes and 'new oil and gas'.
But Labour insisted that this phrase did not mean new drilling, merely the development of existing oil fields.
Mr Sarwar's words followed a demand from the oil and gas industry, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), that a reversal of Mr Miliband's ban on new drilling could unlock at least an extra three billion barrels of oil from UK waters.
This would boost overall North Sea supplies to seven billion, meaning that they accounted for nearly half of the 15 billion barrels required to power the UK between now and 2050.
However,Mr Sarwar who has crossed swords before with the Prime Minister on Labour's energy policy, as well as over benefit payments, stopped short of demanding a reversal of current policy.
Instead he said the current world economic situation meant 'maximising our existing resources' and added: 'The choice is more expensive imports from despotic regimes like Russia or new oil and gas, then the answer must be oil and gas.'
The development of existing fields could, he said, yield billions of value for our economy and added: 'This is a generation-defining moment, we must rise to it to deliver the security and prosperity our country needs.'
David Whitehouse, the chief executive of OEUK, said that this country was on a journey to net zero but added: 'We will need oil and gas for decades to come. It makes sense for the UK to produce as much as it can itself.'
Much of the oil and gas industry will be disappointed by Mr Sarwar's decision to adhere to the Miliband line that Labour could continue to support oil and gas development but only at existing fields.
They believe that his determination not to allow new drilling puts this country at the mercy of expensive imports including those from the USA.
Critics of Labour's policy to depend upon imports to meet the nation's energy needs say it is also bad for the environment as North Sea oil and gas are much cleaner.
With an election to the Scottish Parliament only a little over a year to go, and with the government's net zero target coming under increased pressure, I cannot imagine Labour sticking to its current policy in banning the development of new oil and gas fields.
Even the SNP has a more sensible – well, sort of – policy on the issue now that Nicola Sturgeon and her Green allies are not calling the shots. They will judge all applications for new fields 'on their merits''. We shall see.
Meanwhile, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: 'We are in favour of using all of the country's resources.'