Green light for Rosebank oil field helps Labour label Tories as the party of the past

Development of the UK’s largest untapped offshore oil field has been given the green light to go ahead by regulators.

The Rosebank development off the coast of the Shetland Islands will allow the UK to produce more fuel at home to boost the UK’s energy security and resilience.

Or at least that’s what the government says.

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Granting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea has caused an outcry from environmental groups concerned with the CO2 emissions that will be released as a result of the programme going ahead.

And the SNP leader, Humza Yousaf, claims the majority of what is extracted from Rosebank will be taken overseas rather than remaining in the UK.

But Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho insists granting this licence will preserve 200,000 jobs, lower the UK’s carbon footprint, make the UK less reliant on foreign regimes and maintain tax revenue gained from the sector.

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The Labour Party maintains it would not go ahead with the programme if it were in power as Sir Keir Starmer previously stated his party would not grant new oil and gas licences in the North Sea.

And although this will keep Labour in favour with green campaigners, some unions are at loggerheads with the party they founded.

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The GMB Union agrees with the government’s approach to granting new oil and gas licences in the North Sea and similarly believes it will make the UK less reliant on imported gas.

Their general secretary, Gary Smith, even took a swipe at Labour’s stance, claiming: “We need a plan, not bans.”

But as with numerous policy areas – for example, HS2 and the two-child benefit cap – Labour seems quick to criticise Tory policy but less quick to reverse it.

On Sky News, shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said despite being against the Rosebank development, Labour would not revoke it were they to win the next general election.

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But carving clear dividing lines between themselves and the Conservatives is a key priority for Labour as it gears up campaigning for a general election.

And with the ongoing fallout from Rishi Sunak’s climate climbdown on net zero pledges, Labour will be hoping this new project will add to their characterisation of a Tory party bereft of ideas and unable to create the green economy of the future.

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