Starmer under attack from both sides over Rosebank

04 February 2025

Following the ruling by the Scottish Court of Session that consent granted by the previous conservative government for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields was illegal, and the requirement for the developers to submit new environmental evidence, Keir Starmer is under attack from two directions.  Energy Secretary ED milliband is keeping his cards close to his chest, but some Labour MPs and environmental activists fear that the government's green agenda is being eroded.  A Labour backbencher said that a lot of Labour supporters on every wing of the party "would go absolutely nuts" if development consent was granted for Rosebank.  Another Labour MP said: “Not many in the party are going to man the barricades over Heathrow, but Rosebank is a very different matter altogether. There would be massive resistance if they try and give consent for that.”

From the other side of the barricades, at PMQs last week, the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch  asked if Sir Keir had the “guts” to approve new British oil and gas licence applications when they are resubmitted.  In an exchange largely dominated by British policy over the Chagos Islands, Sir Keir was non-committal, and responded  “She knows the position on Rosebank, she knows the court case that has meant that the licence has got to be reviewed. There’s a process that’s got to be gone through in the proper way."

The Guardian  31 January 2025   'We'd go absolutely nuts'
Kiran Stacey, Jessica Elgot, Peter Walker and Matthew Taylor

The Guardian  3 February 2025    'Growing internal backlash'
Jessica Elgot, Kiran Stacey, Helena Horton and Libby Brooks

The Herald     5 February 2025     'Has the PM got the guts?'
Andrew Learmonth   Political Editor