𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Our new PM has just shown us something else. Given the choice, he will prioritise the Labour Party’s needs over the country. He’s willing to risk millions of Britons feeling colder and poorer this winter, just to gain a political edge. We’re heading towards a winter energy crisis, as oil prices rocket thanks to the Iran war and gas storage levels plummet. That doesn’t seem to bother Burnham. All he cares about is the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election. That means more to him than pensioners freezing at home this winter.

But Jackdaw is a big decision. It should be based on the national interest, not short-term party politics. Britain needs all the reliable gas it can get to see us through a tough winter. Hanging on for another month is the last thing we need to do. The Tories have already accused him of chickening out of this decision once. Now’s it looks like he’s doing it agian.

This is becoming a nasty habit. Vital defence spending decisions have been shoved into 2027. Welfare reform has also been kicked into the long grass. Burnham is dithering over home secretary Shabana Mahmood’s immigration clampdown. And now the energy crisis is on the backburner too.

Jackdaw is backed by Shell and Equinor and had previously secured regulatory consent. Further consent is required following legal challenges and changes to the project, and foot dragging from former energy secretary Ed Miliband.

The field could provide enough gas to heat the equivalent of 1.4 million UK homes and around 6% of projected UK North Sea gas production. It won’t magically slash everyone’s energy bills or solve Britain’s energy problems on its own. But it will help.

Shell and Equinor have already invested heavily in Jackdaw and say the platform is installed. Subject to consent, the developers claim it could supply British homes and businesses within weeks. Precisely at the moment we need it. Delaying the decision for political convenience is therefore an extraordinary gamble.

If you were wondering why Ed Miliband chose this week to announce further sanctions on Israel, it’s for the same reason. To head off the threat from the Greens, a happy home for hard-left activists, virtue-signalling hipsters and Israel-hating Islamists.

It’s grubby politics. And pathetic energy and foreign policy. Get used to it. This is life under Burnham. We may all pay the price when the temperature drops and the heating bills land this winter.