Labour will 'pay the price' of Ed Miliband's North Sea drilling failure as union leaders warn Net Zero will 'cost seats'

Alice Tomlinson
Tue, 07 Apr 2026 13:13:25 +0000

Labour will "pay the price" of Ed Miliband's North Sea drilling failure as union leaders have warned Net Zero policies will "cost seats" for the party.

Unite has slammed the Energy Secretary, demanding the Government starts drilling in the North Sea or face electoral humiliation in May's local elections.

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, reportedly said the resistance to take advantage of UK oil and gas is harming the Labour Party, particularly ahead of the local elections and when households are feeling the blowback of the Iran war in their pockets as oil prices soar.

This "stark message" comes as unions across the country turn on the Government's Net Zero programme, the Express reports.

Ms Graham said: "The Government's energy policies in both Westminster and Holyrood are putting jobs and energy security at risk.

"This is an act of self-harm, and Labour will certainly pay the price in the May elections.

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"Unite has a clear and stark message as energy bills rocket due to the Iran war – we must keep the North Sea working and fund a concrete plan for jobs.

"Voters can see that it is a big mistake to let go of one rope before we have hold of another."

This is the latest aim at the Energy Secretary's reluctance on the issue - GMB general secretary, Gary Smith, demanded over the weekend a total reassessment of Net Zero.

Mr Smith called the Government's approach "absolute madness" at a time when households were already reeling from the spike in energy costs caused by the Iran war.

He continued, warning it would be a source of shame if a Labour government presided over the same destruction of a working-class industrial community in Aberdeen that the Conservatives had inflicted on Middlesbrough in the 1980s.

The Energy Secretary has so far declined to grant licences for the Rosebank oilfield, sitting on an estimated 300 million barrels of untapped reserves, or the Jackdaw gas field, which could meet around six per cent of Britain's annual gas needs.

Officials have confirmed no decision would be reached before autumn.

Mr Miliband is possibly on a collision course with his own Chancellor, with Rachel Reeves voicing her backing for both projects, telling the BBC she would be "very happy" to see drilling go ahead at both sites.

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Ms Reeves argued that domestic production would strengthen the economy by creating jobs and boosting tax revenues, even while acknowledging it would not directly reduce prices at the pumps.

Labour backbenchers have increasingly sided with the Chancellor's position, with MP for Mid and South Pembrokeshire, Henry Tufnell, arguing that North Sea exploration was essential for domestic energy security and beneficial for the economy.

Luke Akehurst, MP for North Durham, said there was no contradiction between pursuing renewables and making use of remaining North Sea reserves.

Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, has also backed approving the licences, despite his party facing a bruising Holyrood contest in May, with some projections placing Scottish Labour as low as third.

Pressure has also come from the Conservative benches, with Scottish Tory leader, Russell Findlay, accusing Mr Miliband of a failure to grasp basic energy realities.

He said the UK would need oil and gas for decades to come regardless of the transition to renewables.

The SNP's softening stance on North Sea production has added to the pressure on Mr Miliband, with even his traditional political allies in Scotland now acknowledging the economic and security case for continued domestic extraction of gas and oil.

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said while the climate must underpin any decisions, he had to “look at the evidence in the world as it faces me” when it comes to the North Sea. This includes the war in Iran, which has caused oil prices to soar.

Ms Graham cut the union's financial support for Labour by 40 per cent last month.

She told Sir Keir Starmer directly that her members' patience with his leadership was wearing thin.

The GMB has launched its own parallel campaign, with Mr Smith calling for a fundamental rethink of the Net Zero timeline.

He argued that the current approach amounted to decarbonisation through deindustrialisation, a charge the Government has consistently rejected.