The Commons vote
MPs have rejected a bid to permit licences to explore new oil and gas fields, throwing out a Conservative amendment to the King’s Speech by 108 votes to 323 – a majority of 215. The amendment pressed ministers to approve drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields, two major North Sea projects whose development has become a flashpoint in the debate over Britain’s energy future.
The King’s Speech reiterated the Labour government’s manifesto commitment not to issue new licences for exploring new fields. The government’s proposed Energy Independence Bill instead aims to accelerate offshore wind, hydrogen and grid technologies, while permanently banning new exploration licences, onshore fracking and new coal licences.
Clash over North Sea policy
Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho accused Labour whips of telling MPs to “vote to shut down the North Sea” during Tuesday’s debate. She warned that the government’s position would leave the UK “more reliant on higher-emission gas from Qatar or the US”, or funnelling “billions of pounds to Norway to import gas from the very same basin” in the North Sea. Describing the policy as “the single greatest act of industrial self-harm we have seen in a generation”, she added: “Only a complete whacko would respond to a supply shortage by shutting down their own oil and gas industry.”
The Conservative motion also stated the government’s proposal “will have a particularly negative impact on Aberdeen, the north-east of Scotland and wider UK economy”. The party argues that ending the ban on new licences and scrapping the Energy Profits Levy would maximise investment, and that Labour’s approach makes the UK more dependent on foreign countries for energy supply.
SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan questioned whether the government would be forced into a “screeching U-turn” if UK oil and gas production fell faster than the rate of consumption. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband retorted that the SNP “has had more positions on this than the Kama Sutra”.
Labour’s strategy: balancing existing fields with clean energy investment
Ed Miliband defended the government’s approach, telling MPs that £90 billion of private investment had gone towards “clean energy” since the 2024 general election. He emphasised that existing oil and gas fields will remain open for their lifetime under Labour’s plans. “We’re not in favour of a ‘turning off the taps’ position but, I’ll just be honest with the House, nor are we in favour of a drilling every last drop,” he said.
The Energy Independence Bill introduces transitional energy certificates (TECs) designed to maximise output from existing offshore fields by allowing production from areas adjacent to licensed blocks. This, the government says, will enable tie-backs and manage oilfields for their natural lifetime without opening entirely new exploration areas. The North Sea Future Plan, which underpins the policy, acknowledges the basin’s natural decline and focuses on growing clean energy industries while supporting workers’ transition. Data shows the number of jobs supported by the UK’s oil and gas sector has more than halved in the past decade.
Miliband argued that the UK’s dependence on fossil fuels leaves it vulnerable to international market prices. “While we remain exposed to the fossil fuel rollercoaster, we are deeply vulnerable as a country,” he said. “Our sovereignty, our security and the British people’s living standards are undermined by this dependence and exposure because – for a simple reason – we do not control the price of oil and gas, which is set on international markets.” He added: “There is an answer staring us in the face: energy independence through clean home-grown power we control. Clean home-grown energy that comes from our own winds, sun, and nuclear resources, that cannot be disrupted by foreign wars, that cannot be controlled by the whims of petrostates and dictators, that means our national security and energy security cannot be held hostage.”
The Bill will also grant offshore workers in renewables the same employment rights as their counterparts in the oil and gas sectors, a measure Miliband said would put workers at the centre of a fair transition. Labour’s Torcuil Crichton, MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles), acknowledged that some constituents find the scale of the transition “overwhelming”. He noted that the North Sea had been a source of wealth for Scotland, but added: “Out to the west is the Wild Atlantic, from where the wealth of wind will provide and power the transition away from carbons and renewables.” North Sea workers, he said, wanted “certainty and an orderly transition, but that puts their jobs at the centre of this transition”.
Government plans: the Energy Independence Bill, nuclear and the future of the North Sea
The government’s Energy Independence Bill is the centrepiece of its energy strategy. Beyond banning new licences for oil, gas, coal and fracking, it aims to accelerate the deployment of clean energy infrastructure. Energy minister Michael Shanks reiterated the government’s commitment to the North Sea, warning against misconceptions that the basin is “not a maturing basin in natural decline (or) nostalgia for some new age of discovery”. He said the government would introduce transitional energy certificates and manage existing oilfields for their lifetime. “The North Sea made Britain an energy nation, this Bill ensures that it will remain one,” he added.
The Conservative motion also noted with “regret the cancellation of a third large-scale nuclear power plant at Wylfa” in North Wales. The former Wylfa Magnox station, which generated electricity from 1971 until its closure in 2015, is undergoing decommissioning. The UK government purchased the site from Hitachi in 2024 and has earmarked it for new nuclear capacity, including small modular reactors (SMRs), with an ambition for them to connect to the grid by the mid-2030s. A proposed Wylfa Newydd plant by Horizon Nuclear Power (Hitachi) was cancelled in September 2020.
Energy security arguments also run through the Bill. Michael Shanks noted that widely dispersed wind farms and solar panels are harder to target than large-scale fossil fuel power stations and are not vulnerable to supply shocks. The government links its clean energy push to reducing exposure to foreign wars and the whims of petrostates.
Specific North Sea projects remain contentious. Rosebank, west of Shetland and described as the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field, is operated by Adura (a joint venture between Equinor and Shell), with Ithaca Energy holding a 20% non-operated interest. A final investment decision for Phase 1 was made in September 2023 at $3.8 billion, with first production expected in 2026–2027. However, in January 2025 a Scottish court ruled the 2023 approval unlawful for failing to account for total lifecycle emissions, including scope three emissions – a decision following a UK Supreme Court ruling mandating consideration of downstream emissions. The government is now assessing new projects on their compatibility with climate goals, with Rosebank described as a “defining test”. Data suggests new drilling at Rosebank would displace only about 1% of the UK’s gas imports and that its reserves are predominantly oil for export. A separate legal challenge in January 2026 warned that approving Rosebank could breach international law because its profits would flow partly to the Israeli oil and gas company Delek Group, linked to West Bank settlements.
The Jackdaw gas field, east of Aberdeen, owned by Shell, is scheduled to begin production in 2026. The North Sea Transition Authority gave consent for development in June 2022, but in January 2025 a Scottish court ruled that consents were no longer valid pending a fresh process considering scope three emissions. When operational, Jackdaw is expected to provide fuel to heat 1.4 million UK homes, but data shows the field would displace only 2% of the UK’s current gas imports. The owner, Adura Energy, was asked by the NSTA to respond to new questions regarding greenhouse gas emissions related to its licence application.
Miliband has stated that clean energy is the “biggest jobs opportunity of the 21st century” and that “nobody’s turning off the taps in the North Sea”, but that new exploration licences will not be issued because they would not cut energy bills – prices are set on international markets. The projected CO2 emissions from Rosebank alone are vast, potentially exceeding the combined emissions of 73 lowest-emitting countries.
Energy minister Michael Shanks concluded the debate with a firm restatement: “The North Sea made Britain an energy nation, this Bill ensures that it will remain one.”
