UK plan to expand oil drilling in North Sea causes Tory tensions

Divisions have emerged within the British Conservative party over its promise to “max out” drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea off Scotland as prime minister Rishi Sunak’s government continues its apparent retreat from certain green policies.

As energy minister in 2019, Chris Skidmore signed the UK’s “net zero” climate pledge and said the government’s announcement this week of more than 100 new North Sea oil and gas licenses is “the wrong decision at the wrong time”.

He said the move is on the “wrong side” of the economy and voters, who he predicted will support parties that strongly back the fight against climate change. “It is [also] on the wrong side of history,” he said.

Former Tory chairman Zac Goldsmith also criticised the expansion of North Sea drilling. He said the Conservatives would need a “compelling story” to win over voters at next year’s election. “Does the prime minister really think dropping our international environmental leadership and rolling back our domestic commitments is that winning story?” he said.

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Other senior conservatives, such as former business minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, argue the government must go further in rolling back some green policies, such as car restrictions, that may be costly and unpopular with voters.

The Conservative party has been in retreat on climate change measures since it narrowly and unexpectedly won a byelection last month in Boris Johnson’s former west London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Labour’s failure to win was blamed by many in that party on the decision of London mayor Sadiq Khan to expand Ulez (ultra low emission zone) charges for older petrol and diesel cars.

On Monday, Mr Sunak flew to Aberdeenshire in Scotland, the heart of the North Sea oil and gas industry, to announce a £20 billion (€23 billion) investment in new carbon capture and storage schemes. But he coupled this with announcing more than 100 new exploration licenses to be issued from the autumn.

Reliance on imports

He said this would improve the UK’s energy security by cutting reliance on energy imports from “foreign dictators”. This would lower energy prices, he argued, as he didn’t want to “unnecessarily burden families with costs they don’t need”.

The prime minister has faced criticism for flying to Aberdeenshire on a private jet provided by the RAF. Labour suggested it may have been a breach of the ministerial code for him to take a jet instead of a scheduled flight, which it argued was available. Mr Sunak responded to criticism by saying it was a “more efficient use of my time”.

Pressure is also building within the Conservative party for the government to water down its commitments for the UK to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Some MPs worried about angering Tory voters also want it to axe a pledge to ban the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. Number 10 Downing Street has so far resisted changing the plan.

The government has, however, initiated a review of LTN (low-traffic neighbourhood) rules that some local authorities use to ban cars from some side streets.