Energy Panic Drives New PM’s Backtrack

Debate stage with four empty podiums and bright red and blue backdrop

Britain’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham is set to approve new North Sea oil and gas drilling — a sharp U-turn from the very manifesto that got his party elected, and a move that echoes advice Donald Trump gave him publicly.

Story Snapshot

Burnham asked civil servants to draw up new energy plans within days of taking office, with a North Sea drilling announcement expected as soon as next week.
The move breaks a clear Labour Party pledge from its 2024 manifesto, which promised no new drilling licenses would be issued.
Major trade unions and oil industry leaders pushed hard for the reversal, warning that Britain could import 80% of its energy needs within a decade without domestic drilling.
President Trump publicly called Burnham “extremely liberal” and urged him to open up North Sea drilling — advice Burnham now appears to be taking.

A New PM Makes a Surprising First Move

Andy Burnham became Britain’s Prime Minister after Keir Starmer stepped down following a bruising stretch of energy bill fights and party infighting. Within days of taking office, Burnham’s team asked the civil service to prepare new energy policy plans. According to Bloomberg, those plans are expected to include new North Sea oil and gas drilling licenses — possibly announced as early as next week. That is a striking opening move for a Labour leader.

A poll cited by the Manchester Evening News found that 49% of respondents want the UK to follow Norway’s lead and allow North Sea development. That is more than double the share who prefer keeping the ban in place. Industry groups and two major trade unions — Unite and GMB — sent a formal letter to Burnham and Labour lawmakers urging them to back drilling. Their core argument: without new licenses, Britain is on track to import 80% of its energy needs within ten years.

A Direct Break From Labour’s Own Promise

The problem is that Labour made a clear pledge in its 2024 manifesto. The document stated plainly: “We will not issue new licences to explore new fields.” It went further, arguing that new licenses “will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.” Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer had personally backed that pledge. Now, under Burnham, the party appears ready to walk it back entirely.

Not everyone inside Labour is on board. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has argued the focus should stay on clean energy, not drilling. The Independent reports that internal debate inside the party is real, with some lawmakers pushing for renewables as the path to energy security. Burnham himself has only said publicly that he has an “open mind” on the issue — he has not yet made a firm, on-record commitment to new licenses. Still, the direction of travel seems clear.

Trump Weighed In — and May Get the Last Laugh

President Trump made headlines by calling Burnham “extremely liberal” and warning that he would not support North Sea drilling. Trump publicly urged Burnham to open up drilling to help save what he called a “dying” Britain. At the time, many observers dismissed Trump’s comments as noise. But Burnham’s reported plans now line up almost exactly with what Trump recommended — a fact that is hard to ignore regardless of where you stand politically.

🇬🇧 After Keir Starmer’s rough ride left Labour hammered on energy bills and internal fights, Andy Burnham is already shifting gears.

He’s stepping in as PM and already signaling more North Sea oil & gas drilling, fast-tracking fields like Rosebank and Jackdaw while keeping the… pic.twitter.com/Ppm3eeMIIy

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 18, 2026

This is a pattern worth watching. Across the political spectrum, people are tired of leaders who say one thing to get elected and do another once in power. Labour won in part by promising to end new fossil fuel extraction. Now, facing real pressure from unions, industry, and energy security concerns, the new prime minister may abandon that promise before he has even settled into the job. Whether you see that as pragmatic leadership or broken trust likely depends on what you were promised — and what you believe about who governments actually serve once they take office.