Burnham moves to outlaw new North Sea drilling as Tories warn of a 'closed for business' sign over Aberdeen
The bill also scraps household gas standing charges and shifts 75% of Renewables Obligation costs to public spending, while establishing a £2bn energy wealth fund for renewables investment.
The Energy Independence Bill, laid before Parliament on Wednesday, removes the North Sea Transition Authority's authority to issue any new oil and gas exploration licences, making Burnham the first PM to write the moratorium into statute. The legislation also formally abolishes gas standing charges, creates a £2bn energy wealth fund, and will compel developers to give local communities up to a 20% share in new clean energy projects.
Shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie branded the bill 'dangerous' and 'utterly delusional', warning it would leave Britain 'increasingly reliant on dirty imports'.
The ban will not affect Rosebank, the UK's largest untapped field approved in 2022, nor Jackdaw, which was green-lit last month by Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.
Nigel Farage publicly condemned what he called Labour's North Sea hypocrisy, given the government approved Jackdaw while simultaneously banning future licences.
