Donald Trump made a shocking revelation.
Andy Burnham (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has told Donald Trump that he would “open up the North Sea” for oil drilling, the US President said in a White House briefing. The Prime Minister is said to be preparing to announce plans for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea, the BBC reported earlier this month.
He is also expected to unveil measures to give “people breathing space on the cost of living” and make a “dynamic start… focused on delivering tangible change to people’s lives as soon as possible”. Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged not to issue any new licences for oil and gas drilling, but to honour existing ones, and the new leader is expected to uphold this.
Trump claimed to have talked to the PM. (Image: Getty)
This comes after two oil and gas fields in Scotland – Rosebank and Jackdaw – were approved in 2022 and 2023 before being overturned in a 2025 legal challenge.
They both already have licences to exclusively explore for oil and gas, but it’s currently under consideration whether to give them approval to produce oil and gas.
The court ruling said there must be a more detailed assessment of the environmental impact, given the effect of burning fossil fuels on the climate.
If Mr Burnham gives them the go-ahead, it would not break the manifesto pledge, and Mr Trump said it would leave the people of Aberdeen “dancing in the streets”.
The US President is a staunch supporter of oil and gas drilling, and previously suggested further action in the North Sea would “make the United Kingdom, from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World”.
Mr Burnham has, however, been urged to reject new drilling in the North Sea by leading climate scientists who created Greater Manchester’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2038.
Professor Kevin Anderson and scientists from the Tyndall Centre at the University of Manchester said it was “with considerable concern” that reports suggested the new Prime Minister could approve further development of Rosebank and Jackdaw.
They said it would signal that the UK was backtracking on its international climate commitments.
