Andy Burnham weighs North Sea oil expansion as Trump hails potential drilling

Incoming Labour prime minister Andy Burnham is set to assume office on Monday, 20 July 2026. While Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged to halt new North Sea licences, senior party figures say Burnham may approve production from existing licences at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, describing it as a “more pragmatic approach” rather than a policy reversal. Deputy leader Lucy Powell told the BBC that the party is “more a change of emphasis” and that North Sea oil and gas remain “an important part of the mix”.

U.S. President Donald Trump, a vocal fossil‑fuel supporter, posted on Truth Social that “the People of Aberdeen … are dancing in the streets because the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has stated that he will be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!” He added that expanding drilling would turn the United Kingdom “from a poverty‑stricken disaster to one of the richest countries anywhere in the world”. Burnham has not confirmed the reports, and Labour maintains that any action would respect the manifesto’s ban on new exploration licences.