Lammy Defends North Sea Policy at PMQs Today — Pmqs Today
At pmqs today, David Lammy stood in for Keir Starmer and defended the government's energy and defence policy after Claire Coutinho pressed him on Labour's North Sea stance. Starmer was at the G7 summit in France, while Coutinho took Kemi Badenoch's place for the exchange on 17 June 2026.
Lammy told MPs that “oil and gas is coming out of the North Sea 24/7” and said it was part of “a mixed economy.” He also said he was “proud to serve this prime minister, and proud of what this Labour government is delivering,” and called spending more on defence the government's “number one priority.”
Claire Coutinho and Aberdeen
Coutinho used her question to attack Labour's North Sea position. She asked, “Why is Labour happy to get its oil and gas from Russia or Qatar, but not from Aberdeen?” and said “this is a government on life support.” She also told Lammy the government should “cut welfare, fund defence, make energy cheap, and back the North Sea.”
The exchange landed while Labour was already under pressure on defence spending. Last week, Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns resigned in protest at the government's spending plans. Lammy's reply put defence at the centre of the government's case, while leaving the North Sea row open in public view.
Starmer at the G7
Starmer's absence gave Lammy the slot at deputy PMQs, but it also meant the confrontation came without the prime minister on the floor. That left Coutinho, standing in for Badenoch, to use the session to link energy policy to the government's wider spending choices.
The political pressure around Labour does not stop at the chamber. Josh Simons stepped down to trigger the Makerfield by-election, creating a path for Andy Burnham to return to Westminster, and Starmer has warned Burnham against launching an immediate challenge if he wins the seat. Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said he is prepared to trigger a contest as early as next week.
Makerfield and Westminster
For Labour, the PMQs clash added another live test to a week already marked by resignations and a by-election that could reshape the party's internal arithmetic. Lammy's defence of the government's energy line answered the immediate attack, but Coutinho's question kept the North Sea dispute tied to defence spending and Westminster instability.
