Ed Miliband’s Net Zero obsession looks even more strategically disastrous now that oil prices have surged and the Strait of Hormuz remains all but closed. A short-term distributable fuel supply is especially handy in times like these…
Guido had a look at everything Miliband and Labour have done to restrict vital North Sea oil and gas since entering office:
- No new exploration or production licences. A manifesto commitment in place from August 2024…
- Formal ban on new oil and gas exploration licences. 26 November 2025’s North Sea Future Plan implemented a ban on new licences ending new exploration for offshore oil and gas fields, as well as an end to new onshore licences in England, effectively ending fracking…
- Allowing the Tories’ Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill to lapse. It would have mandated annual licensing rounds for offshore petroleum…
- Increased the windfall tax. Labour hiked the rate of the Energy Profits Levy by 3 percentage points to 38%, extended the end date to 31 March 2030, and removed the main 29% investment allowance…
- Abolished the main investment allowance. The investment allowance available since the EPL was introduced was removed, other than for expenditure on decarbonisation, which was retained but reduced to 66% to maintain its existing cash value. The previous 29% uplift on general qualifying expenditure – which had been designed to encourage continued investment in extraction – was scrapped for costs incurred from 1 November 2024…
- Restricted capital allowance claims under the EPL. The government also announced it would reduce the extent to which capital allowance claims (including First Year Allowances) can be taken into account in calculating levy profits…
- Withdrew the government’s legal defence of Rosebank and Jackdaw approvals.
- Introduced new scope 3 emissions guidance for EIAs. On 19 June 2025 the government published new guidance that, for the first time, requires oil and gas companies to consider end-use emissions associated with oil and gas production in their environmental impact assessments when applying for development consents…
- Consulted on and launched the transition of the North Sea Transition Authority’s statutory objectives. Primary legislation will amend the NSTA’s statutory objectives to balance maximising economic value, supporting net zero delivery, and assessing long-term transition impacts on workers, communities and supply chains. The regulator’s existing principal objective under the Petroleum Act 1998 was to maximise the economic recovery of UK petroleum…
- Created Transitional Energy Certificates (TECs) as a restrictive alternative to new licences. Projects supported by TECs must not involve any new exploration, must connect to existing infrastructure, and must be demonstrably necessary to support an ‘orderly and prosperous transition’…
- Tightened rules on flaring, venting, and platform electrification. Stricter rules on flaring, venting and platform electrification are being used to accelerate decarbonisation of legacy assets. Increased compliance costs and capital requirements for existing fields…
A comprehensive squashing from Miliband. Revenues from North Sea oil and gas stabilise GBP, counter ‘imported inflation,’ and ease pressure on interest rates. Tax receipts pour in from royalties, and Britain has to spend less on imported LNG, which has high import costs. It’s time for Reeves to put her foot down and open up oil fields ASAP…
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