The Tories will tear down legal barriers that are stopping the flow of North Sea oil, Kemi Badenoch has said. The Conservative leader promised that her party’s Get Britain Drilling Now bill would “stop the lawfare and free our oil and gas industry”. Mrs Badenoch insisted that the draft legislation would see new North Sea projects greenlit and allow drilling to restart at Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field.The Tories claim more drilling would secure cheap, reliable energy and cut energy bills – in addition to making Britain more resilient to global energy supply and price shock.
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Mrs Badenoch said: “We need to get Britain drilling in the North Sea. It’s good for our energy security, our financial security, and our national security. “Keir Starmer hides behind legal process because he doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to Ed Miliband. “The Conservatives have had enough. This Bill would stop the lawfare and free our oil and gas industry to start drilling, creating new jobs and bringing in revenue to get energy bills down. “This is another step in our cheap power plan, which will cut bills by £200 and ensure a stronger economy and a stronger country.”The Tories have already called for a cut in VAT on domestic energy bills and the scrapping of green taxes on power generation.Mrs Badenoch’s party instead claims this will cut bills by £200. The new bill also proposes to remove the requirement for downstream emissions to be considered in planning decisions. These are the emissions caused by the burning of the fuel – wherever it takes place in the world. LATEST DEVELOPMENTSMartin Lewis warns UK energy bills could rise 30% as Iran conflict threatens oil and gas pricesRachel Reeves says UK willing to release emergency oil reserves as Iran conflict hits energy marketsReform pledges to ban ‘lunatic green levies’ in net zero purge as Britain’s heat pump row reignitesIt is this downstream emissions requirement which has held up both gas fields at Rosebank and Jackdaw.Equinor had been granted approval to develop Rosebank in 2023 by the regulator, however, the decision was later ruled unlawful by the Scottish Court of Session in January 2025. The Norwegian energy firm, which owns the majority of the Rosebank development, resubmitted plans for its approval last year.The field, which is about 80 miles north west of Shetland, is said to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil and some gas. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have argued that companies such as Equinor have been left stranded with future projects paralysed by uncertainty. Its draft legislation would give the industry confidence to invest in oil and gas in the North Sea, the Tory Party said. Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho said: “It is unforgivable that Labour are continuing with Ed Miliband’s mad plan to shut down our own energy supplies in the North Sea in the middle of an energy crisis. “Keir Starmer is too weak to stand up to Ed Miliband, who has allowed radical activists to make us weaker, poorer and more dependent on foreign imports with higher emissions through endless lawfare. “Our Bill will clear the way for investment in our own energy production so we get more of our energy from Britain rather than from abroad. We must get Britain drilling.” The news comes as Ithaca Energy announced its FPF-1 platform had stopped producing in the North Sea. The 14,000-tonne floating production facility had been operating for nine years at its site, 160 miles east of Aberdeen. Ithaca’s chief financial officer, Iain Lewis, said that the platform could have continued production if it was not for “inaction by regulatory bodies and the UK licensing environment”.Mr Lewis added: “She went out on a high, with significant gas production directly into the UK grid.”Responding to the Tory plan, a Labour Party spokesman said: “Kemi Badenoch wanted to send British troops into a war without thinking about the consequences. She is totally out of her depth.“Badenoch has already admitted that her central energy policy won’t bring bills down. “This latest gimmick is a desperate cover for her total lack of judgement.“Only Labour is focussed on easing the cost of living for families. From this week, energy bills are coming down thanks to the choices of this Labour Government – action that was opposed by the Tories and Reform.”
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