How your MP voted on new oil and gas drilling in North Sea

MPs have rejected a push by the Conservatives for new oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. The Tories used an Opposition Day motion to call on the Government to approve drilling in the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields amid the Iran war which has sent fuel prices soaring.

But the bid was defeated by 297 votes to 108, majority 189. Opening the debate, shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho warned Labour is on the “wrong side of history”.

She said: “Shutting down the North Sea is an act of economic self-harm, an unforgivable own goal when it comes to Britain’s energy security.”

Ms Coutinho accused Sir Keir Starmer‘s party of being “economically illiterate” in claiming fresh drilling would not reduce costs for ordinary people and insisted that Jackdaw and Rosebank could be “up and running by Christmas”.

She added: “Maybe even they realise that they are, once more, being marched up the hill on the wrong side of history, on the wrong side of public opinion, when we all know there will be an inevitable U-turn from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor in a few weeks’ time.”

Shadow energy minister Andrew Bowie claimed Labour is “being held captive by extremists” who refuse to “take advantage of our greatest asset lying untapped and unexplored under our own waters”.

Energy minister Martin McCluskey said oil and gas would play a part “in our energy mix for decades to come”, but argued that more domestic production “won’t make us more energy secure and won’t take a penny off bills”.

He said: “The North Sea is a super mature basin that accounts for around 0.7% of global oil and gas production.

“Production has been naturally falling for more than 20 years, which means our North Sea no longer has the reserves available to support domestic energy demands.

“And crucially, any new licences now would not make any difference to people’s energy bills, because regardless of where it comes from, oil and gas is sold in international markets, where we are price takers, not price makers.”

He insisted the UK needs to “get off the rollercoaster of fossil fuels” and build a more secure, homegrown energy system.

Mr McCluskey added: “Recent events in the Middle East are yet another reminder of the need to speed up that transition and protect British people from these price shocks.”

The motion was unlikely to pass due to Labour’s large Commons majority.

It comes as oil and gas prices have been driven up as Iran has blocked key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, with commercial vessels coming under attack in the region.