Andy Burnham torn apart over 'complete dearth of seriousness' amid amid North Sea delay: 'More concerned about TikTok!'

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A decision on the North Sea is expected to be made next month, resting on both the Prime Minister and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh

Andy Burnham has been dealt a scathing blow by Andrew Bowie over his delay on whether Labour will give the go ahead on two North Sea projects.

Speaking to GB News, the Shadow Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero declared that the Prime Minister has shown a "total unseriousness" since coming into office.

Mr Burnham is expected to delay the announcement on whether the Government will go ahead with the two North Sea oil and gas projects.

Consultations on the Rosebank oilfield and the Jackdaw gasfield have both closed within the last week with a decision expected to be made next month, resting on both the Prime Minister and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.

Criticising the Government for the delay, Mr Bowie argued that the delay on the decision shows a "complete dearth of seriousness" from Mr Burnham.

He told GB News: "I think it shows a total unseriousness at the heart of this Government.

"If they're more concerned about what it looks like on the gram or on TikTok than what it actually means for our energy security or our economy, or those hundreds of thousands of high skilled British jobs, then that just shows a complete dearth of seriousness at the centre of Andy Burnham's Government, carrying on from that woeful Government that we had under Keir Starmer."

The Tory MP made clear that the other Parliamentary parties "need to see these decisions taken and taken soon".

He stressed: "We need Jackdaw, we need Rosebank, we need it for our energy security, we need it for our revenue, and we need it to secure those jobs here in the United Kingdom because they aren't here, they're going to go overseas.

"The oil and gas industry is booming around the world. Just last week, we had reports that BP were signing a new contract in Venezuela, two weeks after they had announced they were pulling out of the UK's North Sea.

"If that doesn't send a signal to this Government about the situation we find ourselves in in comparison to our competitors across the world, I don't know what will."

Mr Bowie told GB News that the UK should take a more "pragmatic approach" to reaching a cleaner energy system, combining greater domestic gas production and nuclear power with renewables where they are affordable

The shadow minister argued the Government's focus on a wholly renewable grid risks creating additional costs, pointing to payments made to wind farms when they are unable to generate electricity and the infrastructure required to transport power from new generating sites.

He said: "Of course we want to maximise what we can get from our own North Sea, but this is more about moving away from this obsession with a net zero grid, a wholly renewables based system that Labour driving this country towards, with no comprehension of the hidden costs that are going to fall on British consumers and British businesses.

"What we're saying is a different way of doing this. Let's put our foot on the pedal, let's build more gas, let's build more nuclear, and yes, where it's affordable and not going to cost the British people prohibitive amounts, let's see more renewables on the grid.

"That way we get to where we need to get to quicker, we get a cleaner grid, but we do it at a far less of a cost, falling on the shoulders of the British people."

GB News host Ellie Costello challenged Mr Bowie over whether the Conservatives were now simply "chasing Reform votes".

He rejected the suggestion, arguing that there had been criticism within the Conservative Party of the 2050 target since it was first introduced.

He said: "In 2019, Kemi was one of the few MPs actually in Parliament to speak out against that. She's been utterly consistent on this, and in fact, one of her first announcements when she became leader was that we were no longer going to be tied to arbitrary dates and targets, such as net zero by 2050, because it was making this country poorer, it was making us uncompetitive.

"So what we need to do is take a much more pragmatic approach, one that prioritises British consumers and British business, which doesn't lead to the deindustrialisation that we've seen across the country, saves British jobs, makes us more energy secure.

"But yes, leads us to that cleaner future that we all want to see. But right now, the path that the Labour Party are taking us down is making us poorer, more insecure and not having any impact at all on global emissions."