Reform vows to restart drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea to boost UK's energy security

Published: 23:44, 7 April 2026 | Updated: 23:44, 7 April 2026 Reform UK has vowed to resume drilling in the North Sea for oil and gas to help the UK produce its own energy if it wins the next election. Nigel Farage's party pledged to use Britain's 'energy treasure' to create jobs, boost growth and cut bills by ending the ban on further exploration. Analysts have predicted that energy bills could rise by nearly £300 a year from July when the energy price cap increases. It comes as ministers clash over whether Labour should restart oil and gas extraction or stick with Ed Miliband's Net Zero goals.  The Energy Secretary – who is pro-renewables and against any further exploration – is at odds with Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who thinks drilling is good for growth. He is said to be considering approving the Jackdaw gas field off Scotland but remains opposed to the Rosebank oil field, which is thought to contain up to 300million barrels.  Nigel Farage's party pledged to use Britain's 'energy treasure' to create jobs, boost growth and cut bills by ending the ban on further exploration Reform said yesterday it would approve both fields, saying the need to exploit homegrown oil and gas reserves had never been more urgent. Energy spokesman Richard Tice said: 'Opening up the North Sea to more licences and production is our vital, patriotic duty.  'Energy security and independence is essential and can only be secured by using our own oil and gas.  'We must scrap Net Zero and all the damaging expensive carbon taxes. The Tories and Labour have deliberately made us poorer with their Net Zero obsession.' The party said it aimed to increase UK oil and gas production by at least half. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.