Reform UK has declared that the United Kingdom must extract “every last barrel, every last drop” of its oil and gas, positioning a dramatic expansion of domestic fossil fuel production as the only route to national energy security and economic revival.
The party’s energy spokesperson, Richard Tice MP, made the call at a press conference in Aberdeen, where he warned that global instability and the threat of blackouts demanded a wholesale reversal of current energy policy. He framed the UK as an “island of energy treasure” whose resources were being left untapped, a point he underlined with a staged power cut during his speech.
Four-Point Plan for Maximum Extraction
Central to Reform’s proposal is a “critical four-point plan” aimed at revitalising the oil and gas sector. First, the party demands that the industry regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), be renamed the Oil and Gas Authority—a symbolic shift away from a ‘transition’ focus. More substantively, Reform wants the body’s statutory mandate changed to “maximum economic recovery” of fossil fuels.
Second, Mr Tice insisted the government must approve all existing drilling consents in the North Sea, explicitly naming the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, which have faced fierce opposition from environmental campaigners. He argued that granting these licences would be a vital “sign of confidence” to an industry needing to attract investment.
The third pillar is the abolition of the Energy Profits Levy, the windfall tax on oil and gas companies introduced by the Conservatives and maintained by Labour. Mr Tice claimed this tax stifles investment, pointing to the statistic that 49 new wells were drilled in Norwegian waters last year while none were drilled in the UK—a situation he branded a “humiliation” for Britain.
Fourth, the policy extends onshore. Reform UK backs fracking for shale gas, with Mr Tice, a Lincolnshire MP, claiming the county alone holds reserves potentially equivalent to a decade’s worth of UK gas demand. He cited the US shale boom, which transformed America from an energy importer to an exporter, as a model the UK could follow using “a variety of techniques for extracting it… safely of course.”
The Economic and Security Case Explained
In laying out his party’s arguments, Mr Tice connected geopolitics directly to household bills. Citing the recent rise in energy prices linked to conflict in the Gulf, he argued that domestic production is the only reliable buffer against volatile international markets. “With everything that’s going on in the world at the moment, has there ever been a more important time to understand the importance of having our own secure supply of energy,” he said.
The economic rationale presented hinges on the promise of lower prices. Reform UK contends that using UK-sourced gas would result in “domestically priced gas,” decoupled from international prices. “We can have cheap energy, cheap gas, cheap electricity once again,” Mr Tice claimed. “That’s what we need to do… it creates jobs here, it creates wealth here and prosperity and gives us low competitive energy prices.”
This focus on jobs and investment is a direct response to the sector’s recent history. The party argues that a supportive policy environment, free of the windfall tax and with a regulator focused on extraction, would reverse a trend of declining activity and employment.
Environmental Campaigners Dismiss Plan as “Pipe Dream”
The proposals were immediately condemned by environmental groups. Robert Palmer, deputy director of the campaign group Uplift, which advocates for a rapid shift away from fossil fuels, said Reform’s policy amounted to a “nightmare double whammy” that would lock the UK into higher energy bills for longer.
Mr Palmer directly contested the energy security argument, stating, “new drilling will do nothing to improve the UK’s energy security.” He explained that “the UK has burned most of its gas, and most of what is left in the North Sea is oil, the vast majority of which is exported” to the global market, not reserved for UK use.
He also challenged the jobs promise, calling it a “pipe dream” and noting that under the last government, employment in the oil and gas industry halved. In light of global price shocks, Uplift argues the solution is to “get off our dependency on fossil fuels by doubling down on renewables, like wind, and upgrading homes with solar power and heat pumps.”
The debate sets a clear political dividing line, with Reform UK advocating for a fossil fuel-centric future based on maximum extraction, while opponents insist this approach is economically flawed and environmentally irresponsible in an era of climate change.
