This column has urged, cajoled, harried and downright hectored ministers to approve drilling at Rosebank and Jackdaw, so reports that Andy Burnham is about to give the latter the green light ought to be welcomed with great enthusiasm on this page.
Not so fast, though.
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Burnham → urge → page
If the briefings are accurate, the UK Government is only granting licences for the natural gas project off the coast of Aberdeen.
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Government → grant → Aberdeen
While this is no bad thing, it would charitably be described as a half measure.
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it → describe → measure
Jackdaw was originally approved by the last Tory government but production could not get up and running because the powerful, well-funded green lobby set its battery of lawyers on the decision.
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lobby → approve → decision
The courts ruled that permission for Jackdaw, and for Rosebank which was green-lit in 2023, was given unlawfully because of the potential impact on climate change.
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which → rule → change
Now, I’m as concerned as the next person about the climate and agree carbon emissions must be managed downwards until scientists and technologists discover or develop a solution, which I have every faith they will.
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they → ’m → faith
But it is simply not tenable for Britain to leave energy in the seabed when we are in the middle of an energy crisis, with international sources of petroleum and gas concentrated in regions destabilised by conflict, with the cost of living squeezing family finances, and with jobs on the line in the beleaguered oil and gas sector.
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cost → leave → sector
Net Zero fundamentalists don’t care about such considerations.
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fundamentalists → care → considerations
Andy Burnham is reported to be giving the green light to move forward with production at the Jackdaw gas field
They are political sadists who want to make humanity suffer for its ecological sins and they are content to wreck living standards and stymie prosperity along the way.
For Britain to flourish again, the Net Zero doomsday cult must be crushed.
That means drilling at Jackdaw, for sure, but without doing the same at Rosebank the impact on energy production, jobs and prices will be limited.
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impact → report → production
Rosebank, which lies to the north-west of Shetland, is estimated to hold between 300million and 500million barrels of crude.
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which → lie → crude
That’s not going to save the sector, but it would buy some breathing space for this ‘just transition’ we keep hearing so much about.
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we → go → much
Instead of adopting this sensible approach, the Prime Minister prefers to triangulate, and on the wholly reasonable grounds that he hasn’t a principle or original idea in his whole body.
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he → adopt → body
The man is a walking mood board, nothing but vibes, and none of them consistent with the other.
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man → walk → other
To take a firm stance on this he would require a bit of gumption and a purpose to his premiership other than wanting to be in Number 10.
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he → take → Number
He probably needs to have some understanding, too, of the people most acutely affected by his indecision and half-decisions.
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He → need → indecision
Scotland’s oil and gas workers are doing it tough.
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workers → do → it
They see redundancies all around them and companies scaling back or bowing out altogether.
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They → see → them
They have become accustomed to working good, if challenging, jobs and being paid commensurately, not least given the advanced skills demanded by their line of work.
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They → become → work
These are careers upon which they have built homes and families, with the expectation that, as long as there was oil in the sea, there would still be a call for their skills.
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they → build → skills
The sector did not enrich only the energy companies and their employees.
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sector → enrich → companies
Aberdeen and the surrounding areas benefited from an influx of investment that made the city, and particularly its western suburbs, a desirable place to live.
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city → surround → investment
The unwillingness to develop new oil fields by successive UK governments has left the industry in a precarious position
Now families are struggling to maintain their standard of living, some are dipping into their savings to make ends meet, and a growing number are upping stakes altogether in search of work and more affordable housing.
Successive governments became so embarrassed with the eggs the golden goose was laying that they clipped its wings with burdensome regulation, obstructive climate impact assessments, and a policy of hostility towards the very notion that natural resources should be developed for our benefit.
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resources → develop → benefit
We are a country going through a nervous breakdown because our leadership class regards with horror the notion that we might put our national interests ahead of other considerations.
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we → go → considerations
They would rather vie for cosmic virtue points than do anything that might offend against the doctrines of the Church of Woke.
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that → vie → Woke
Because Net Zero has been established as an infallible truth, and drilling for fossil fuels as the heresy of the knuckle-dragging disbeliever, the decision-making classes cannot bring themselves to trespass against their eco-Leftist catechism.
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classes → establish → catechism
Britain has lost its spirit of enterprise and excellence, its attachment to risk-taking and exploration.
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Britain → lose → taking
This is no longer a country that pushes through obstacles, takes a chance, rewards effort, and prizes prosperity above the petty fixations of politics.
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that → push → politics
It is incumbent upon those who lead us that they recognise where the country has gone wrong and resolve to correct course.
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country → lead → course
To return to the pragmatic Britain where economic growth and environmental responsibility could co-exist. Where the living standards of the middle classes weren’t sacrificed to ideological fads and fancies.
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standards → return → fads
Where the Government wanted the country to prosper and did not take every opportunity to scold and nanny and punish the public for turning on their gas boilers or preferring petrol-fuelled cars to the eco-friendly electric variety.
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country → want → variety
They are about what kind of country this is and whether the governing class believes in Britain and has her best interests at heart.
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class → govern → heart
The political class have been unwilling to risk going against Net Zero ideologists
Leaders more concerned with cringing and apologising for our successes, our potential, and our natural resources are not going to be the ones to lead us out of our malaise.
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Leaders → risk → malaise
They should get out of the limelight and make way for leaders who want to lead.
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who → get → leaders
Britain needs a government with the energy and determination to scrap what doesn’t work, embed what does, and lay waste to whatever sacred cows obstruct our path to prosperity and security.
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cows → need → prosperity
Not even Andy Burnham’s greatest admirer (Andy Burnham) believes that he is the man for this moment, but he could at least act the part until a proper leader comes along.
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leader → believe → part
The Prime Minister should not stop at Jackdaw.
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Minister → stop → Jackdaw
He should also approve Rosebank and implement a presumption that, where there is evidence to suggest a field contains substantial energy resources, it will be granted permission by the Government.
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it → approve → Government
Enough with these self-imposed shackles that hold Britain back even as our competitors press ahead on both fossil and renewable energy.
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competitors → impose → energy
This country must regain its confidence, its thirst for hard work, and its promise that toil will be rewarded.
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toil → regain → work
Getting the rigs back up and running is the first step to recharging the political and economic juggernaut that is Great Britain.
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that → get → juggernaut
