Exclusive – Andy Burnham should commit to no new North Sea oil and gas at COBRA meeting, Labour MP says
Clive Lewis MP has said that approving new North Sea oil and gas would be "incompatible" with taking the climate crisis seriously
Labour MP Clive Lewis has said that Andy Burnham must commit to not approving any new North Sea oil and gas licences at an emergency meeting about the extreme heat today.
Lewis told Left Foot Forward that approving new North Sea oil and gas licences would be “incompatible with any government claiming to be serious about the climate crisis”.
As Andy Burnham prepares to chair an emergency Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (COBRA) meeting on the extreme heat affecting the UK today, Lewis said North Sea oil should be “number one” on the agenda.
The Norwich South MP told Left Foot Forward that if Burnham is “serious” about tackling the climate crisis “then allowing further extraction while the world quite literally burns would send the opposite message to the British public”.
The prime minister has said that in his first phone call with Donald Trump he told him he will take a “pragmatic” approach to oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump claimed Burnham had said he would “open up” North Sea Oil.
Asked about Trump’s comments, Burnham said: “There is a resource there. When people are struggling – you can’t ignore that and hence me indicating that to the president.”
The PM has also not ruled out granting approval for two new oil and gas fields, Jackdaw and Rosebank.
Lewis stated that if Burnham allows further extraction of oil and gas in the North Sea, “It would suggest that, when confronted with the power and interests of the fossil fuel industry, those ambitions [to tackle climate change] are negotiable.”
The Labour backbencher added: “If we believe oil still has a strategic role during the transition, then nationalise it and treat remaining reserves as a strategic national asset. Better still, leave as much of it in the ground as possible.
“But allowing new oil to be extracted and sold on international markets for billions in private profit, while doing little to lower UK household bills, is incompatible with any government claiming to be serious about the climate crisis, particularly if it wants to retain credibility on the international stage.”
The Green Party leader, Zack Polanski, who called on Burnham to hold a COBRA meeting about the heatwaves in a video on X on 30 July, said Burnham should commit to no new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
In a statement, Polanski said: “When the country is burning and people are dying, the PM had to call this meeting. But this is only a first step.
“This is a climate emergency which is leading to hundreds of deaths and stretching our firefighters, health staff and farmers to the limit. What we urgently need is concrete action.
“That must include taxing fossil fuel giants to pay for firefighting helicopters, a cool space in every community, and a maximum working temperature.
“The prime minister must also commit to no new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. We cannot negotiate with the science.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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