Former leaders say North Sea drilling won’t help UK
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- Neil Morisetti said that extracting more oil and gas from the North Sea will not lower consumer prices or deliver long‑term energy security, because international markets set price and destination.
- Kemi Badenoch launched a “get Britain drilling in the North Sea” campaign on Monday, urging reversal of Labour’s ban on new licences.
- E3G reported that “structural chokepoints” in global oil and gas supply mean increasing fossil‑fuel output anywhere will not improve a nation’s security, and recommends electrification, efficiency, and domestic clean energy.
- Uplift research with Voar found that hundreds of new North Sea licences granted between 2010 and 2024 produced only 36 days of gas, underscoring the limited impact of new drilling.
- Lt Gen Richard Nugee pointed to Spain’s electricity price being set by renewables rather than fossil fuels, describing it as “sovereignty not dependency”.
- Khem Rogaly argued that reliance on expensive, volatile fossil fuels makes British families vulnerable to shocks from US‑led oil wars, and that publicly owned green energy can protect from such shocks.
- James Meadway warned that the Iran war shows large, centralized power systems are vulnerable to drone, missile, cyber attacks and extreme weather, calling for more domestic solar, heat pumps, insulation and a decentralised grid.
Why it matters: British households gain a more reliable, cheaper energy supply as the UK shifts to domestic renewables and a modernised grid, while fossil‑fuel interests lose political leverage; the strategy cuts exposure to volatile global oil markets and geopolitical chokepoints and reduces the risk of supply disruptions from wars in Iran and Ukraine.
