Andy Burnham told he MUST change course on North Sea oil and give sector 'respect it deserves'

The next prime minister must change course on North Sea policy and give the sector “the respect that it deserves”, a meeting of industry heavyweights was told.

The summit called for a “reset” in the Government's approach to the North Sea and for Britain's next leader, expected to be Andy Burnham, to take a “common sense” approach to British industry. Trade body Offshore Energies UK has written an open letter to all 403 Labour MPs, telling them “support for the North Sea is about more than oil and gas”.

Workers wearing PPE and hardhats presented the letter to politicians outside the Houses of Parliament. Under current policy, new North Sea licences have been banned and producers face a windfall tax, meaning they pay 78 per cent on their profits.

The offshore industry says these policies have scared off investors and are hastening the decline of the basin. Addressing the meeting in central London, OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse said it was vital that the next PM took a fresh approach to offshore energy.

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He said using North Sea oil and gas was better for energy security, the economy and the climate. This is because imports often had a higher carbon footprint.

He said: “I think there is an opportunity for a reset, in both language and policy, from our next government. Fundamentally, the UK needs to be resilient. The UK needs to produce more of its own energy. Absolutely, we should build out renewable energy. But while we use oil and gas, we should produce it ourselves. We make, in my view, a common-sense argument that the UK needs to take care of its own industries. I think the next few days with the next prime minister are going to be critical in seeing whether or not we see the reset, in language and policy, that we are looking for.”

The meeting heard from Robert Deavy, GMB Scotland organiser, who warned offshore workers were suffering as the UK transitioned towards green energy. “You hear, all the time, that this industry is approaching a cliff edge,” he said.

“Well, I beg to differ – we're at the cliff edge now, we’re not approaching it. And while you're sitting in this room, there's very likely someone up in Scotland now being told that they’re losing their job. It just should not be happening.”

He went on: “We’re now hearing from our members, workers who had really good jobs, who, though they were secure for life, well paid, their families well brought up - and now they’re approaching poverty. They’ve been made redundant, and they cannot find work. This transition that they hear about - it's not working with them, it’s happening to them, and it’s not taking them along. “And this is the story we are being told every single day.”

He said that North Sea workers were world-renowned and called for the next Prime Minister to take a more pragmatic approach to oil and gas. “We actually shouldn't be sitting in this room, having to have this conversation,” he said.

“It seems crazy that we actually have to have this conversation, and no one, the policy makers especially, is listening. So, hopefully, we'll get a new Prime Minister. He'll come in, be pragmatic, we'll see a change in policy, and we'll do the right thing for this industry, and actually start backing it and supporting it, and treating it and giving it the respect that it deserves. Because, right now, it does not get any respect from any government we have had in the past God knows how many years.”

Steve Elliott, Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association, said backing the North Sea would provide a vital bridge to a clean energy future, as well as boosting UK competitiveness on the world stage. Mr Elliott said: “The inconvenient truth, of course, is that the country will continue to need oil and gas for decades to come. Backing the continued development of North Sea oil and gas, alongside renewable energy, is, in our view, not about slowing progress. On the contrary, it's about maintaining the bridge to a cleaner, cheaper energy future, through strengthening our industrial competitiveness, protecting jobs, and reducing reliance on imports in an increasingly volatile world.”

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He said “hostile government policy” meant the chemicals sector was already “in the fight of its life”. International competitors were paying 400 per cent less for power and nearly 30 UK chemical businesses had closed between 2021 and 2025, he said, with 8,000 jobs lost.

However, “as grave as the situation is”, there was still time to make good on Mr Burnham’s commitment to re-industrialisation and “growth in every postcode”, he said. Achieving this would mean addressing energy costs and ensuring decarbonisation doesn’t come about through de-industrialisation, the summit heard.

Jamie Baker, of Fuel Industry UK, said there needed to be clear signals from the new administration that domestic manufacturing was valued. “I think it's true for the North Sea, just as it is for the companies which I represent, that it is better for the climate if we produce things here in this country than if we import them from overseas,” he said.

He backed Mr Burnham’s call for reindustrialisation but added: “There needs to be really immediate action. There needs to be a change of language, and there needs to be pride in manufacturing in the UK. There needs to be a clear statement of intent from the Government, which is that they want manufacturing in the UK, rather than they are content to export the problems of emissions overseas, but also to export the jobs and skills, and ultimately the tax revenues, which they will need in order to deliver the rest of their agenda.”

Responding to the letter, a Government spokesman said: “Oil and gas production will be with us for decades to come, and we will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan – while actively scaling up clean energy industries in the North Sea. Issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot give us energy security and will not take a penny off bills. Our ambitious plans will make the North Sea a clean energy powerhouse and support up to 40,000 new jobs in Scotland by 2030.”

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