Green energy tycoon Dale Vince sports a 'chips are vegan' t-shirt after being invited to help welcome Andy Burnham to Downing St... but he warns new PM that naming Ed Miliband as Chancellor would be a 'mistake'

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:34, 20 July 2026 | Updated: 14:45, 20 July 2026 Green energy tycoon Dale Vince donned a 'chips are vegan' t-shirt today after he was invited to Downing Street to help welcome Andy Burnham as the new Prime Minister. The 64-year-old, who is one of Labour's biggest donors, claimed Mr Burnham was offering 'hope' and 'bold promise' after listening to the new PM's first speech. Mr Vince described himself as 'overwhelmingly positive and excited' about the former Greater Manchester mayor entering No10, saying: 'I see things the same way as Andy does.' But he urged the new Labour premier not to soften the Government's stance on North Sea oil and gas drilling, as he laid out a series of policy demands for Mr Burnham. He also warned Mr Burnham that appointing Ed Miliband as his Chancellor would be a 'mistake' and a 'bad choice'. Mr Vince has donated more than £6million to Labour through his Ecotricity energy firm in recent years. Speaking shortly after Mr Burnham's first address to the nation as PM in Downing Street, Mr Vince revealed he had been asked to attend by Mr Burnham's team. 'I got a WhatsApp a couple of days ago saying 'do you want to join the event?',' he told Sky News. 'And I thought 'yeah, why not'.' Green energy tycoon Dale Vince donned a 'chips are vegan' t-shirt after he was invited to Downing Street to help welcome Andy Burnham as the new Prime Minister The 64-year-old, who is one of Labour's biggest donors, claimed Mr Burnham was offering 'hope' and 'bold promise' after listening to the new PM's first speech.  Mr Vince urged the Mr Burnham not to soften the Government's stance on North Sea oil and gas drilling, as he laid out a series of policy demands for Mr Burnham. Asked for his thoughts on Mr Burnham's address outside No10, Mr Vince said: 'It's full of hope and kind of a bold promise, really. 'I see things the same way as Andy does in terms of our problems being rooted in the 1970s and 1980s and the privatisation and that kind of stuff. I see the role for public investment.' He added: 'I'm overwhelmingly positive and excited about the change that might be about to come.' Mr Vince said he wanted Mr Burnham to focus on reforming the energy market, reforming the tax system, housebuilding, and a national programme to install solar panels on UK homes. Although he urged Mr Burnham not to soften Labour's stance on the North Sea, Mr Vince refused to back Mr Miliband - the architect of the party's Net Zero agenda - as Rachel Reeves' successor as Chancellor.  'I think it would be a mistake for a number of reasons,' he said. 'I think his spending decisions in DESNZ (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero) have been poor - no value for money at all. 'Tens of billions of pounds committed to projects that won't even move the dial on carbon, let alone our economy.' Mr Vince also cautioned that Mr Miliband 'would be a lightning rod for Right-wing criticism' if he took charge of the Treasury. 'I think he could do better,' he added, when asked about Mr Burnham's potentially picking Mr Miliband as Chancellor. Mr Vince admitted he had 'no idea' what Mr Burnham would decide on the North Sea, amid claims the new PM could back new oil and gas drilling. Mr Burnham has not confirmed reports that he is considering approving new fossil fuel production, particularly in the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. But in a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, US President Donald Trump claimed Mr Burnham had said he would. Mr Vince swiped at Mr Trump having 'a fabulous track record of talking fantasy and nonsense'. He also pointed to how Labour's manifesto from the 2024 general election ruled out issuing new licences to explore new oil and gas fields in the North Sea. 'It's in the manifesto that we don't drill and I know there's no economic case for drilling... it can't bring energy bills down and it can't give us energy security, so I say why do it?,' he said. Labour's 2024 manifesto, which Mr Burnham has promised to honour, said the party would not issue new North Sea licences, arguing they would 'not take a penny off bills' or improve energy security while accelerating climate change. But the new PM is said to be 'open-minded' about the policy. He could claim not to be breaking the manifesto pledge by approving projects at the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, where licences have already been granted, while still not issuing any new licences.