When is a manifesto pledge not a manifesto pledge? That is the question that Ed Miliband is clearly looking to answer in a cynical attempt to please Labour’s union paymasters and compete with the anti-renewable narrative of Reform.
For those with short memories, Labour came into government promising to make the UK the green finance capital of the world. It also made a commitment not to grant any new oil or gas licences in the North Sea.
The once ‘green’ manifesto
This brave green manifesto pledge in many ways, underpinned the Climate Change Committee (CCC) Progress Report from 2023. The CCC made it clear, that while there is an ongoing need for some oil and gas moving forward, it said it doesn’t justify the need for any new oil fields, which the CCC also states is incompatible with Net Zero.
Up until now, it appeared that Labour and CCC were singing from the same hymn sheet; this was until highly controversial events started seeping into the media over recent days.
Several sources familiar with the ongoing discussions, expect Ed Miliband to approve what are called ‘tiebacks’. This allows new fields to be explored via adjacent sites.
A convenient trick of terminology
The conventional wisdom would therefore conclude that the extraction of new reserves of fossil fuels would be forthcoming from this convenient work around. Miliband could still therefore say that that no new oil licences were being created; therefore, not breaking one of Labour’s key manifesto pledges.
This is clearly a breathtaking example of two opposing statements being true at the same time. The creators of Yes Minister would have taken great pleasure in writing a storyline around this unsavoury piece of political chicanery.
In the meantime, in other news, the summer of 2025 was the warmest on record for the UK.
From a bold visionary manifesto to old habits
One of the pivotal reasons for Labour’s landslide victory in 2024, was because of the prevailing disillusionment of the electorate towards the then Conservative Government.
People were also impressed by Labour’s bold environmental messaging leading up to the election; it surely created clear blue water between the more of the same fossil fuels enabling Tories, and the brave new green narrative of the Labour Party under Starmer.
What we have here, is a cynical calculation by Labour in which they think they can have the best of both worlds: they can counter the anti-renewable pushback from Reform and the unions, simply by arguing that oil will continue to be extracted from the North Sea.
At the same time, they can state that they haven’t broken their manifesto promise by granting any new fossil fuel licences.
Loss of credibility and wilfully sacrificed renewable vision
Is it any wonder so many people are turning their backs on mainstream politics in this country?
What happened to the energised and green future envisaged by Labour, where renewable energy made the UK an environmental superpower? Their vision of the financial rewards created by a government – endorsed transition to a green economy has clearly been superseded by their obsession with performative politics of the worst kind.
I know of a little used quotation that stated that “optimism of the action outweighs the pessimism of the thought”. This is lost on this Labour Government, which has clearly forgotten how its environmental policies attracted so many of the electorate in July last year.
Our country and the environment are clearly the losers from Labour’s current identity crisis!
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