𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Which is why he’s been putting it off. He knows how divisive this issue is, especially among the left-wing voters he’s trying to win back to Labour. Disappoint them and they’ll feel betrayed. Go the other way and he’ll be accused of putting short-term party politics ahead of the UK economy. It’s a rotten position for a left-leaning Labour PM to be in. But now it’s make-your-mind-up time.

Burnham has to choose between tackling climate change and keeping the lights on, and there are no easy answers. He has to decide whether to approve fresh production at the Rosebank oilfield and Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea. These projects have become symbols of the wider battle over Britain’s energy future, and after the summer we’ve had, the row will be more heated than ever.

Burnham should have settled this weeks ago. Instead, he put it off until after last Thursday’s by-election in Holborn and St Pancras, triggered by Keir Starmer’s decision to quit Parliament. It was a big test for Burnham, as Green Party leader Zack Polanski was standing for the seat, in a bid to get into Westminster. Burnham was desperate to stop him, to put the resurgent Greens back in their box, and reconnect Labour with disillusioned voters on the left. He didn’t want to boost Polanski’s campaign by announcing new North Sea drilling.

And it worked. Labour held the seat and the heat is on Polanski. Burnham can move on, but he can no longer use the contest as reason to delay.

Former energy secretary Ed Miliband triggered a mighty row by blocking new North Sea drilling licences. He repeatedly argued that the policy wouldn’t cut a penny off household bills, overlooking the wider economic and strategic case for domestic production.

Rosebank is primarily an oilfield, while Jackdaw is a gasfield. Both had earlier approvals quashed following legal challenges, and fresh decisions are now required. Together, they could produce substantial quantities of oil and gas over their lifetimes, although they’re not suddenly going to make Britain self-sufficient.

They will bring other benefits that Miliband never mentioned. New investment would support jobs, generate tax revenues and revive Aberdeen’s energy industry, which has taken a beating as Miliband mothballed new fossil fuel production.

Drilling could strengthen energy security by reducing reliance on imports, and lift Britain’s balance of payments too. We cannot simply transition to renewables overnight, but need oil and gas for decades. In that case, there’s a powerful argument for producing more of it at home.

North Sea gas has lower production and transport emissions than imported liquefied natural gas, so that’s another argument in favour. But there are arguments against.

Critics say new fields risk locking Britain into fossil-fuel dependence when it should be accelerating the shift to renewables. After the summer we’ve just had, approving Rosebank and Jackdaw would infuriate environmental campaigners.

Burnham will also be accused of betraying his climate promises. Going ahead could save Polanski from the chop, but giving him a new cause.

But with winter looming, energy costs climbing and the Iran and Ukraine wars threatening supplies, most people will think it’s madness to leave usable domestic resources untapped. The UK is allowing some imports of jet fuel made from Russian crude, despite its efforts to cut off Putin’s war revenues. Given that, it would be crazy to block our own.

Burnham is in a bind. He cannot please everyone, and he cannot keep putting off the decision. Bad luck. He wanted power, he’s got it. Now he has to show he can make the tough calls that come with it.