The UK, like most major economies, is still highly dependent on oil and gas and will be for decades to come. According to the Committee on Climate Change, oil and gas will still provide more than half of our energy needs in 2035, and 24 per cent of our energy needs even in a net zero 2050. Even this Labour Government,
‘recognises the role that oil and gas will play in the coming decades’
(Michael Shanks MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, 10.02.25)
I want to assure you that I remain personally committed to the environment but, importantly, in a pragmatic and incremental way that does not make the lives of ordinary people harder. Oil and gas will be required in the transition to net zero, and simply turning off the taps would mean we would have to import oil and gas, leaving us susceptible to global volatility in geo-politics and regimes unlike our own.
In fact, relying on imported gas would set back our net zero goals, as the North Sea Transition Authority has highlighted that imported gas has a carbon footprint three times higher than gas produced here in the UK. In the Rosebank and Jackdaw Oilfields debate held on the 10th February, Shadow Minister Andrew Bowie MP, responding on behalf of the official Opposition, pointed out,
‘if we shut down our oil and gas industry, we will not use any less oil and gas—even the Climate Change Committee knows that. The Department seems to ignore the fact that we will simply rely on more imports instead. If those imports are liquified natural gas, they will come with four times the production emissions, and if we import from Norway, we will be shipping in gas from underneath the very same North Sea. Sacrificing our domestic industry, only to rely on foreign imports and compound global carbon emissions, is utter madness for our economy and for the climate. It makes a mockery of our prospects for growth, and it will cost the Treasury £12 billion in lost revenue.’
Along with my colleagues I, therefore, urge the Government to boost our energy security by reversing its ban on new oil and gas field licences in the North Sea, making sure we are not making ourselves ever more reliant on expensive, counterproductive, foreign imports.
Furthermore, the Government’s decision not to issue new licences for North Sea oil and gas raises deeper concerns. Such a ban puts pressure on thousands of skilled jobs, including the 79,000 jobs directly supported in Scotland, without there being any clear plans in place for transitioning these workers. Without a robust plan, the Government’s approach risks leaving workers and families in oil-dependent regions vulnerable, while also potentially straining the UK’s energy independence and jeopardising our long-term energy security.
I will continue to urge the Government to consider a more balanced path—one that maintains our commitment to net zero while protecting jobs and ensuring a practical, fair transition for workers.
Regarding the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields, I am deeply disappointed by the Government's decision not to fight the legal challenge against drilling. No other country is voluntarily shutting down its own oil and gas industry because it is economic insanity to do so. By failing to stand up for these projects, the Government has abandoned British industry and damaged any hope of economic growth. This lack of action is yet another example of how the Government is making the UK more reliant on imported oil and gas, at the same time forfeiting billions in tax revenue.
‘The cost of energy is sewn into every facet of business and home life’ as Jim Shannon, the DUP MP put it, and we know British businesses, farms, pubs, families and pensioners are already struggling to keep their heads above water after less than a year of this Labour Government.
As we have seen over the recent years, global energy supplies have been disrupted and weaponised by the likes of Putin, causing household bills to soar and economic growth to slow around the world. It is therefore essential that the UK has energy independence and security, and the Government must work to safeguard our energy supply and power up Britain from Britain.
The link to the debate transcript on the Rosebank and Jackdaw Oilfields that took place on the 10th February 2025 can be found here:
