Burnham facing first rebellion over North Sea drilling as green light sparks Labour revolt

NORTH Sea drilling is expected to be approved within weeks — setting up Andy Burnham’s first Labour rebellion. The new PM has told US President Donald Trump that he will take a “pragmatic” approach to oil and gas exploration. North Sea drilling is expected to be approved within weeks Credit: AFP Andy Burnham says he will take a ‘pragmatic’ approach to oil and gas exploration Credit: AP Jackdaw — a major gas project operated by Shell — is expected to be given the green light towards the end of summer, The Sun on Sunday understands. This would be a much-needed boost for jobs and growth in the industry after BP announced plans to sell its UK North Sea oil and gas business. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! But lefties in Mr Burnham’s party are already gearing up to kick off at the announcement, in what looks set to be the first major row of his premiership. Labour MP Clive Lewis said there was “no legitimate reason” to push ahead with the drilling. Read more on North Sea oil Another, Rachael Maskell, also hit out at the proposals. But Scottish Labour MPs have been privately urging Mr ­Burnham to allow new drilling in the North Sea, to create jobs and revenue for the area. One Scottish Labour MP said: “We have all been telling him the same thing — we need to get drilling.” The decision on drilling at Jackdaw and the Rosebank site lies with the Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary. Most read in The Sun Labour MP Clive Lewis said there was ‘no legitimate reason’ to push ahead with drilling Credit: Alamy Stock Photo Miatta Fahnbulleh is serving as a strong ally of the PM Credit: Getty Images When he was in the job, Ed Miliband was widely seen as blocking the approval. But he is Foreign Secretary now and his replacement Miatta Fahnbulleh is serving as a strong ally of Mr Burnham, who is keen to show he is a pro-jobs PM. A spokesman for the Net Zero department said they cannot comment on individual projects. Comment now