Labour vow over new North Sea oil licences as Rachel Reeves and Ed Miliband poised for Rosebank clash

The row has emerged after the Court of Session in Edinburgh last week ruled permissions granted to the Rosebank oil field and the Jackdaw gas field under the previous Conservative government were unlawful and the fossil fuel giants behind the plans, Shell, Equinor and Ithaca, should have to reapply for permission.

But the UK government is set to publish new climate compatibility guidance for oil and gas developments in the spring, potentially halting the resubmitted applications, which will now need to acknowledge the emissions caused from burning the fuels, from proceeding.

READ MORE: 'Turning point': Rosebank oil and Jackdaw gas permissions in North Sea scrapped by courts

Mr Miliband, the UK’s energy secretary, has previously said Rosebank going ahead would be an act of “climate vandalism”. But reports suggest the Chancellor would like to see the developments given the green light, with her allies in government claiming it would not go against Labour’s manifesto pledge to issue no new exploration licences, but not cancel existing ones.

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It remains unclear whether Sir Keir Starmer’s government will class the re-applications as new applications or not, to meet the conditions of their manifesto.

The manifesto stated “Labour will not revoke existing licences and we will partner with business and workers to manage our existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan”.

Mr Miliband and Ms Reeves are also set to clash over the proposed Heathrow expansion as climate progress is pitted against attempts to grow the economy.

Scottish Labour energy minister Michael Shanks has suggested the UK government will lipstick to its position of issuing no new oil and gas licences.

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Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Mr Shanks said: “Even if oil and gas is extracted from the continental shelf, it is sold on the international markets and, of course, the companies that extract that oil and gas are in the business of trying to make as much of a profit as possible and they will sell to the highest bidder, so it doesn’t protect the prices for consumers right across this country.

“We were clear in our manifesto that we won’t issue new licences for new exploration fields.

“We’ll continue to support those licences that have already been issued. But our future doesn’t lie in more oil and gas. Our future lies in clean power and that’s what we’re moving at pace to deliver.”

Labour is coming under increasing pressure from both sides of the debate, with the North Sea sector calling for the new rules to be “robust” and “delivered at pace”. Climate campaigners want the government to double down on the party’s pre-election vow to end new oil and gas licences being issued.

READ MORE: John Swinney accuses Labour of 'hoodwinking' Scots over GB Energy as boss makes 20-year admission

A spokesperson for Shell, behind the Jackdaw plans, has warned “swift action is needed from the government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure”.

But Tessa Khan from Uplift, which lodged the successful court action, said any approval of the new applications from the UK government “would undermine its ambitious clean growth plans by sending a signal to investors that the UK isn’t serious about transitioning away from expensive oil and gas”.