Secretary of State for Scotland reassures oil and gas workers as Donald Trump praises Andy Burnham for ‘opening up’ the North Sea
Published 24th Oct 2026, 04:00 BST
The Secretary of State for Scotland has told the North Sea energy sector there will be “no cliff edge” for the industry following the approval of the Jackdaw gas field this week.
Writing in The Scotsman today, Douglas Alexander reassures workers that “oil and gas will be a central part” of the UK’s energy mix well into the future.
He writes: “The North Sea basin is a vital homegrown asset. It’s helped power this country for half a century, and it will continue to do so for decades to come.”
Ministers gave the go-ahead on Wednesday to the Jackdaw field 150 miles east of Aberdeen after years of uncertainty and a court case.
The decision drew criticism from some Labour backbenchers and from environmentalists, but the government faces calls to also approve the Rosebank oil field west of Shetland.
US President Donald Trump welcomed the Jackdaw announcement on Friday, saying as he left the White House for Florida that he had spoken to Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the subject.
He told reporters: “We discussed the fact that they’re opening up the North Sea oil, and that’s going to make the UK a very rich country.
“They’re opening up the North Sea oil. I’ve been after them to do that for two years.
“The other prime minister, the previous man, Starmer. He’s a very nice man, but he never got it done, and this one is getting it.
“Andy is getting it done, and I guess it’s against the liberal principle, but he knows what’s right. It’s going to make UK a very wealthy country.”
Earlier this week, Mr Trump described Jackdaw as “great news for the wealth and prosperity of the United Kingdom, and the wonderful region of Aberdeen”.
He urged ministers to “go full blast”, while also calling on them to “take down the costly and ridiculous windmills”.
The president has consistently pressed for the UK to exploit its natural resources in the North Sea, previously claiming that Britain was “a bankrupt country” and that the nation was “sitting on top of gold”.
Mr Trump, a vocal supporter of fossil fuels, has also long railed against “windmills”.
He lost a legal battle with the Scottish Government to stop a wind turbine development visible from his Aberdeenshire golf course.
Mr Burnham has pledged he will stick to the UK’s net zero target despite giving the green light to Jackdaw.
Asked about the possibility of courts overturning a Rosebank approval, the Prime Minister said on Friday: “Well, that’s a decision that will be taken in due course.
“What we have done this week is taken great care over the decision about Jackdaw because it wasn’t done properly in the past, and that led to the decision being struck down.
“What people can be certain about is things will be done properly going forward.
“And in relation to Jackdaw, people will question: Was that the right decision? It is going to be a bridge to a renewable future?
“The funds that it will release will be able to go into building out that clean energy system that the country needs, which is a further part of our national resilience going forward.”
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said there is a “tight” framework for making the decision to avoid courts overturning it and that she would have the final say.
She said: “Because it is so contested, process really matters, and the last government learned that because they didn’t read the process properly, and that’s why we’ve had this massive delay.
“Because it got contested, it got turned over in the courts.
“So ultimately, only I can make that decision.”
Ms Fahnbulleh added that the “framework is really tight” and said that even her advisers do not see the documents she is reviewing.
It requires weighing up things such as energy security, jobs and the impact on climate, she said.
Ms Fahnbulleh added: “And you have to think about the balance of all those things in order to come to the right determination.
“But it sits heavy for such a big, controversial decision because, in the end, only I can make it.
“And if it is overturned by other colleagues, all that means is we’re going to be overturned in the courts.”
Mr Burnham reaffirmed in an article for The Guardian newspaper his commitment to Labour’s net zero target as well as its manifesto pledge to block new North Sea licences.
He wrote: “There has been much speculation about what this announcement means for Britain’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
“I want to be clear that our determination is unwavering.
“The simple truth is that even as we pursue our ambitious target of net zero by 2050, we will need oil and gas for years to come as a bridge to that clean-energy future.”
Mr Burnham’s comments came amid Tory calls to approve the Rosebank oil field to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas.
The UK government has previously labelled reports that Rosebank could be rejected as “speculation”.
Shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said: “Approving Rosebank is common sense, both for our domestic energy security and when it comes to supporting our allies in Europe.
“We can ‘Fuel Britannia’ at the same time as helping Europe to reduce its reliance on Russia.
“But that means making the most of the resources on our doorstep.”
Fuel Britannia refers to the Tories’ plan to scrap the ban on new licences in the North Sea and increase domestic gas and oil production.
Meanwhile, the SNP has called on the UK government to rule out using revenue from the oil and gas industry in Scotland on English nuclear energy.
SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown said “every single penny should be spent on Scotland’s renewables future”.
Mr Brown said: “The one trillion pound question for the Labour UK Government is will they guarantee that or will we see our energy revenues pay for English nuclear power down south.
“GB Energy was gutted to pay for nuclear projects in England, just as revenues from the hated tax on Scotland’s energy were too - this cannot happen again.
“Scotland's energy has been hidden and stolen from us so let's get this absolutely right - when John Healey talks about that £1 trillion, he is talking about what Westminster could have banked from Scotland. From Scotland's waters.
“Our resources were abused to pay for the worst excesses of Thatcherism and hidden to halt ambition of our people. We cannot let history repeat itself which is exactly what Westminster is planning.
“Through a fresh start with independence, it is guaranteed that every pound from our waters is spent in Scotland. That’s the bottom line and that’s why independence is the preferred choice of the Scottish people.”