Overview
- MPs voted 323 to 108 to throw out a Conservative amendment that sought support for drilling at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields off Scotland.
- The decision keeps the government’s pledge from the King’s Speech to stop issuing new exploration licences and to press ahead with an Energy Independence Bill.
- The bill aims to speed up offshore wind, hydrogen projects, and upgrades to the power grid so the UK relies less on global oil and gas prices.
- Energy Secretary Ed Miliband argued the plan boosts security through clean power, noting about £90 billion of private clean‑energy investment since 2024.
- Ministers outlined transitional steps, including new energy certificates to link smaller finds to existing platforms and equal employment rights for offshore renewables workers, while allowing existing North Sea fields to run to the end of their lives.