𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Andy Burnham told Britain he would bring pragmatism to Downing Street – but as it turns out it was all talk.

For weeks, his Labour Government has been putting off decisions on Rosebank and Jackdaw because he was worried about the ‘optics’ of approving oil and gas projects during a hot summer.

Now we learn Burnham is finally preparing to give Jackdaw the go-ahead.

Perhaps it was the rainy Bank Holiday weekend that did the trick – but if so, we don’t have a Prime Minister – we have a weatherman.

It would be funny if the consequences were not so serious. We are all worried about climate change but delaying a decision till it’s looks less bad is just not serious.

Decisions about how Britain powers itself for decades cannot depend on the temperature outside Downing Street – even if Downing Street North is a few degrees cooler.

That isn’t pragmatism, it’s cowardice.

The people whose livelihoods depend on the North Sea cannot put their mortgages on hold until the weather changes. Businesses deciding whether to invest billions in Britain cannot wait while ministers check the forecast – or which way the political wind is blowing.

And approving Jackdaw alone is just a piece-meal offering – especially to those in limbo waiting for an answer on Rosebank.

Burnham should not expect a round of applause for finally making one decision while keeping Labour’s ideological ban on new oil and gas licences in place.

That ban chokes future investment, puts skilled jobs at risk and leaves Britain increasingly dependent on energy produced overseas.

What sense does that make?

Britain will need oil and gas for many years to come. We can produce more of it here, supporting British workers, businesses and tax revenues, or pay other countries such as Norway or Saudi Arabia to extract it for us.

To spell it out – if Britain is going to use oil and gas, we should produce as much of it as we sensibly can ourselves.

The Conservatives would end Labour’s ban on new licences, scrap the Energy Profits Levy and give the North Sea regulator a clear mission to maximise Britain’s own resources.

Because this is about more than two oil fields in the North Sea.

For years Britain has made energy more expensive while pushing industry, investment and emissions overseas.

Closing a factory here only to import the same goods from China is not environmental progress. Importing gas while refusing to develop our own supplies is not energy security. It is managed decline.

Burnham promised to be different from Keir Starmer, but faced with Ed Miliband’s militant green ideology and pressure from his own backbenchers, he is already chickening out of the big decisions.

It’s deja-vu – we’ve got same old Labour Party, just in a black T-shirt.

But Rosebank still needs a decision and Jackdaw needs confirming now so the North Sea has a future.

So when Parliament returns this week, Burnham has the chance to prove that his promises of pragmatism were real. Being Prime Minister is about making difficult choices, not avoiding them.

I know what I would do – Get Britain drilling again.