Confederation of British Industry chief demands Labour 'drill, baby, drill' in North Sea

Matt Gibson
Wed, 15 Apr 2026 15:27:16 +0000

The head of the Confederation of British Industry has joined calls for more North Sea drilling.

Rain Newton-Smith, who runs Britain’s largest industry body, says the Government should green-light drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields.

Work at both sites has been halted due to legal challenges on climate grounds.

Their futures now lie in the hands of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.

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The CBI director general also said the windfall tax on domestic oil production should be cut.

She spoke the day after US President Donald Trump made another intervention on the issue, calling the North Sea “one of the greatest fields in the world".

He wrote on Truth Social: “Aberdeen should be booming. Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the UK at double the price. They are making a fortune. The UK, which is better situated on the North Sea for energy purposes than Norway, should DRILL, BABY, DRILL!”

He said it was “absolutely crazy” not to maximise the fields.

Appearing on BBC’s Today programme, Ms Newton-Smith said the North Sea was a "critical part” of the country’s energy transition.

She said work should recommence at both Rosebank – Britain's largest untapped oil field – and Jackdaw, a giant gas field.

Ms Newton-Smith said: “Those should be given approval which will help our existing oil and gas extraction. It won’t help the overall cost of energy... but it will impact jobs, and investment, and tax revenue from the North Sea, which are a critical part of the skills we need for that energy transition.”

She also said the energy profits levy, or windfall tax, was putting off investors.

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At present, North Sea operators face a headline rate of 78 per cent.

Ms Newton-Smith said the tax “is reducing investment at the moment in the North Sea”.

She went on: “That needs to be reformed. There are proposals on the table that the government are considering – they should implement them now and be clear that they’re going to encourage that investment and existing extraction.”

Ms Newton-Smith becomes the latest in a chorus of voices urging the Government to rethink its approach to the North Sea.

Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said the current stance “is putting jobs and national security at risk”.

She said: “Blocking oil and gas production in the North Sea, especially now is simply an act of monumental political self-harm. Domestic gas from Jackdaw and oil from Rosebank are essential for jobs and for energy security.”

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney have also indicated support for more drilling.

Mr Swinney said the Iran war had changed "the balance of the arguments" and Ms Reeves suggested the country must "take control of our own energy supplies here in Britain".

Tony Blair’s think-tank says the war has put the issue beyond doubt.

Tone Langengen, energy analyst at the Tony Blair Institute, wrote: “The case for strengthening domestic supply and backing projects like Jackdaw and Rosebank was already strong – the crisis has simply exposed how vulnerable the UK remains without it.”

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero says no decision has been made on Rosebank or Jackdaw.

It maintains more North Sea drilling will do nothing to lower bills, because the price of gas is set on the global market, with a spokesman adding: "The lesson of yet another fossil fuel crisis is the UK needs to get off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and onto clean homegrown power we control."