Labour MPs opposing the Rosebank oilfield are mounting pressure on Prime Minister Andy Burnham as the Government considers whether to approve further fossil fuel extraction in the North Sea.
The dispute threatens the first major rebellion of Mr Burnham’s premiership, with about 75 Labour MPs said to have privately signed a letter against the project. Campaigners hope that figure could rise to 100 – almost one in four Labour MPs.
Rosebank, which lies west of Shetland, is the largest untapped oilfield in the North Sea. Ministers have yet to decide whether it should be approved, following the Government’s decision last month to approve the Jackdaw gas field.
The Prime Minister has pledged to take a “pragmatic approach” to the future of drilling in UK waters. He has also been praised by US President Donald Trump for “opening up” the North Sea.
But approval of Rosebank is expected to provoke a stronger backlash within Labour than the decision on Jackdaw, partly because the oilfield is predicted to produce substantially more carbon emissions.
One parliamentary private secretary to a Cabinet minister is considering resigning if the project receives the go-ahead.
“I think they underestimate how strongly people feel about climate change,” the unnamed official said. “For a generation of us it’s as central to our politics as equality or tackling poverty.”
Former energy secretary Ed Miliband, who was appointed Foreign Secretary by Mr Burnham in July, previously described approval of Rosebank as “climate vandalism”.
However, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said that she alone will make the final decision through a “quasi-judicial” process. Her comments followed reports that Mr Burnham or Chancellor John Healey could ultimately determine the project’s fate.
“Ultimately only I can make that decision,” Ms Fahnbulleh said.
Reports that the Energy Secretary was leaning towards rejecting Rosebank have been dismissed as “speculation” by a spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Conservatives and Reform UK are urging ministers to approve the project, arguing that it would increase North Sea tax revenues and reduce Britain’s dependence on imported energy.
