Kemi Badenoch pressed Andy Burnham on Rosebank at Prime Minister's Questions. He said the North Sea decision would be taken in due course.
The exchange came two weeks after the Budget and put Labour back under pressure over whether permission should be granted to drill at Rosebank. It also brought Burnham's 10-year plan into the same session.
Rosebank at Prime Minister's Questions
Badenoch asked why Rosebank had not been approved yet and treated it as a political choice. Burnham had described it as a quasi-legal decision, and Badenoch said the government was adrift and had a little vision for this country.
She also accused Burnham of kicking decisions into the long grass and linked that criticism to what she called a do nothing Budget. The argument centred on whether the delay reflected policy caution or a refusal to make a clear call on the field in the North Sea.
Burnham's response after PMQs
Burnham said he was determined to give Britain the country the stability the Conservatives had failed to provide. He also committed to presenting his 10-year plan for the country before the Christmas break, while not setting out a date for the Spending Review.
After PMQs, Stephen Kinnock appeared on Politics Live and said, “we’ve got - finally - a leader who’s taking the bull by the horns”. That kept the focus on how Labour wants to present the delay: as part of a wider push for control over long-term decisions rather than a fixed timetable for Rosebank itself. Rosebank oil and gas field decision within weeks
Questions after the Budget
This was the first time Badenoch and Burnham had sparred in the Commons since the Budget two weeks ago. The immediate question for readers is not whether Rosebank has been decided — it has not — but whether Burnham will keep answering it only as a matter of process, or turn it into a clearer policy choice.
