𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Just 2% were against in the poll, which had more than 8,000 responses as of 9am on Wednesday.

One reader commented: “All this huffing and puffing by Miliband about net zero needs to be reigned in.”

Another said: “We need to become energy self-sufficient. We have the natural resources. It’s a matter of national security. Same as priority should be given to farmers who supply our food. We need to get our priorities right.”

A third added: “How can producing your own oil and gas not be beneficial? You’re more self-sufficient and less reliant on others, it will create jobs and extra taxes going into our Exchequer and not a foreign country’s, sounds like common sense, it’s not virtue signalling though so won’t sit well with Mr Milliband.”

The rise in oil and gas prices resulting from the Iran crisis has sparked calls for more North Sea drilling.

Opposition parties, unions and the Tony Blair Institute are among those who have urged for the move.

The Tories used an Opposition Day debate in the Commons on Tuesday to force a vote on the issue

Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho argued Labour is on the “wrong side of history”.

She said: “Shutting down the North Sea is an act of economic self-harm, an unforgivable own goal when it comes to Britain’s energy security.”

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Ms Coutinho accused Labour of being “economically illiterate” in claiming fresh drilling would not reduce costs for ordinary people and insisted that Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas fields could be “up and running by Christmas”.

She added: “Maybe even they realise that they are, once more, being marched up the hill on the wrong side of history, on the wrong side of public opinion, when we all know there will be an inevitable U-turn from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in a few weeks’ time.”

Shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie claimed Labour is “being held captive by extremists” who refuse to “take advantage of our greatest asset lying untapped and unexplored under our own waters”.

Energy minister Martin McCluskey said oil and gas would play a part “in our energy mix for decades to come”, but said that more domestic production “won’t make us more energy secure and won’t take a penny off bills”.