Key facts
- Seventy-five Labour MPs have signed a private letter opposing the Rosebank oilfield off the Scottish coast, per the Guardian.
- One signatory said the letter will probably reach around 100 MPs and may go beyond that number.
- The letter is expected to be delivered within the next fortnight to Andy Burnham, the report said.
- Adura said gas had begun to flow from the Jackdaw platform, bringing UK energy resources ashore for winter.
- Adura's Claire Mueller said Rosebank and Jackdaw are expected to generate £1.4 billion in tax before the end of this parliament.
- Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is said to be minded to reject Rosebank but could be overruled by the prime minister.
As many as 100 Labour MPs could sign a private letter opposing the Rosebank oilfield off the Scottish coast, according to a Guardian report dated November 15, 2026. Seventy-five MPs have already signed it, the report said, and it is expected to be delivered within the next fortnight to Andy Burnham, the figure the letter is addressed to.
The letter says Britain's credibility as a global climate leader would be destroyed if drilling went ahead, and argues the project would not reduce energy bills. It was first reported by the Sunday Times, according to the Guardian, and the campaign draws heavily on Labour MPs from the 2024 intake. Environmental organization Sera, a Labour affiliate whose members include Ed Miliband as well as ministers Luke Pollard, Georgia Gould and Matthew Pennycook, is described as instrumental in organizing it.
Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is said to be minded to reject the oilfield but could be overruled by the prime minister, the report said, describing a cabinet split in which chancellor John Healy backs the plans. The government has described its process around Rosebank as quasi-judicial. Fahnbulleh previously told the Guardian any decision would be consistent with the UK's climate obligations, carbon budgets and the energy transition.
MPs quoted said a decision to grant the licence could prompt resignations. Foreign secretary Ed Miliband has previously called Rosebank a "colossal waste of taxpayer money and climate vandalism", per the report. Some signatories had backed the smaller Jackdaw field on the basis that it was primarily gas.
Adura, the North Sea producer operating both fields, said on November 15 that gas had begun to flow from the Jackdaw platform. Claire Mueller, Jackdaw project director at Adura, said Rosebank and Jackdaw were expected to generate £1.4 billion in tax revenues before the end of this parliament, rising to £3.8 billion by the end of the next. Unions GMB and Unite back Rosebank, the report said.