Ed Miliband, the man who once branded North Sea oil development “climate vandalism,” has apparently found his environmental principles rather more flexible now that the chancellorship is within reach.
According to reporting in the Telegraph, the Energy Secretary has privately indicated he is ready to wave through production at the Jackdaw gas field — the very kind of fossil fuel expansion he has spent years railing against — in a naked bid to reassure jittery markets and City figures nervous about the prospect of a Miliband Treasury.
It is, by any honest reading, a U-turn of breathtaking cynicism. For years Miliband has postured as Labour’s foremost eco-crusader, lecturing the country on the moral urgency of net zero while working to throttle North Sea production. Now, with No. 11 dangling in front of him and wealthy taxpayers reportedly drawing up plans to flee the country over his tax ambitions, he suddenly wants to be seen as a “pragmatist.” Funny how principle bends the moment personal ambition demands it.
The political theatre is transparent. Miliband cannot formally approve Jackdaw until a public consultation closes on August 10 — announcing sooner would invite a judicial review — so instead allies have been sent out to soften his image, briefing that he is not the “zealot” he has long been painted as. It is rebranding, not conviction.
This is the same Miliband who has previously attacked drilling projects in apocalyptic terms, yet who now needs Aberdeen, the unions and the markets to believe he cares about jobs and energy security. Unite’s Sharon Graham was blunt last month, warning that installing him as chancellor would be like putting a noose around job creation. Even his own side doesn’t trust him on the economy.
Meanwhile, incoming Labour leader Andy Burnham — set to become prime minister next Monday — has said he is “open minded” about North Sea drilling, a telling admission of how badly Labour’s net zero dogma has collided with the reality of a cost-of-living crisis and £1,663 average energy bills. It’s taken soaring bills, a Middle East-driven energy shock and the loss of Aberdeen South to the Conservatives at a recent by-election to drag Labour towards common sense — and even then, only far enough to help one man’s leadership ambitions.
None of this changes what Miliband himself has said about Rosebank, the other stalled North Sea licence, which he has previously condemned outright. Nor does it disguise the fact that the very tax plans he’s expected to pursue — equalising Capital Gains Tax with income tax, and possibly a new 50p top rate — are already reported to be driving wealthy entrepreneurs to draw up “escape plans” from Britain, according to tax adviser David Lesperance.
Voters can draw their own conclusions about a politician whose environmental convictions turn out to be negotiable the moment a great office of state is on offer.
Worth reading in full: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/07/14/miliband-will-approve-north-sea-oil-clear-path-chancellor/
