Donald Trump dubs the UK a 'poverty-stricken disaster' as he praises the prospect of renewed North Sea drilling

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 13:59 EDT, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 15:05 EDT, 19 July 2026 Donald Trump has branded the UK a 'poverty-stricken disaster' as he responded to reports the new Labour leader could sign off on new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea.The US president said in a Truth Social post that Andy Burnham, who has not confirmed the reports, would 'be opening up, all the way, the invaluable North Sea Oil!'.He said new drilling would 'make the United Kingdom, from a Poverty Stricken Disaster, to one of the Richest Countries anywhere in the World'.Mr Trump, a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, added people in Aberdeen would be 'dancing in the streets' at the news.The president's golf course, Trump Turnberry, is in Aberdeenshire and he has previously railed against wind turbines erected off the coast of the course, calling them 'some of the ugliest you've ever seen'.He targeted the turbines again in his latest post, saying the government should 'move the old and horrible looking windmills, which loom over and destroy the City of Aberdeen'.Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell said on Sunday Mr Burnham would stick to the party's manifesto commitments on North Sea drilling but would 'pursue a more pragmatic approach'.In 2024 Labour said the party would not issue new North Sea licences, arguing to do so would 'not take a penny off bills' or improve energy security while accelerating climate change.Donald Trump called the UK a 'poverty-stricken disaster' as he praised Andy Burnham after reports the new Labour leader would support more drilling in the North Sea Andy Burnham is set to allow new North Sea oil and gas drilling to prove his 'pro-business' credentials Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary and a frontrunner to be Mr Burnham's Chancellor, has been opposed to new drilling licencesBut Mr Burnham is said to be 'open-minded' about the policy.It is understood Mr Burnham believes he would not breach the manifesto by backing further drilling in the Scottish Rosebank and Jackdaw fields because licences had already been granted there.Ms Powell did not say whether Mr Burnham would back more drilling but said she expected a 'change of emphasis' rather than a 'change of policy'.Regulators initially approved oil exploration at the two locations in 2022 and 2023 under the then-Tory government, but saw their efforts overturned last year after a legal challenge.Mr Burnham's reported openness to drilling is a rebuff to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, believed to be a candidate for Chancellor, who has been strong in his opposition to new North Sea licences.The former Labour leader, who has reportedly seen his chances of securing the keys to No11 eclipsed by Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in the last week, previously called the decision to issue a licence to the Rosebank drilling field 'climate vandalism'.But energy price pressure brought about by the US-led war in Iran has seen the Conservatives and Reform UK pile pressure on the government to approve new licences.Sources told The Mail on Sunday Mr Burnham's new Business Secretary, tipped to be Jonathan Reynolds, will run Britain's energy policy instead of Mr Miliband's department as part of a beefed up 'Ministry for Industry'.