Засгийн газар олон сар үргэлжилсэн хэлэлцүүлгийн эцэст Умард тэнгист байрлах “Jackdaw” хийн ордыг ашиглах шийдвэр гаргасан нь эрчим хүчний аюулгүй байдал болон байгаль орчны бодлогын хүрээнд шүүмжлэл дагуулж байна.
Их Британийн засгийн газар “Jackdaw” хийн ордыг ашиглах зөвшөөрлийг албан ёсоор баталлаа. Ерөнхий сайд Энди Бөрнэм энэхүү шийдвэр нь ажлын байрыг хамгаалах, өвлийн улиралд айл өрхүүдийг дулаанаар хангах зорилготой “прагматик алхам” гэж мэдэгдэв. Засгийн газрын тооцооллоор тус төсөл нь 27 шинэ ажлын байр бий болгож, одоо байгаа 273 ажлын байрыг хадгалан үлдэх бөгөөд Их Британийн эдийн засагт 2.9 тэрбум фунт стерлингийн хувь нэмэр оруулах төлөвтэй байна.
Энэхүү шийдвэрийг Ногоон намын удирдагч Зак Полански “уур амьсгалын эсрэг үйлдэл” хэмээн хатуу шүүмжилж, засгийн газрыг байгаль орчны асуудалд итгэл үнэмшлээ алдсан гэж буруутгав. Түүнчлэн эрчим хүчний сайд Миатта Фанбуллех уг төсөл нь хэрэглэгчдийн цахилгаан, хийн төлбөрийг бууруулахад нөлөөлөхгүй гэдгийг хүлээн зөвшөөрсөн юм. Засгийн газар уг шийдвэрээс гадна эрчим хүчний орлогоос бүрдэх “Energy Wealth Fund” санг байгуулж, сэргээгдэх эрчим хүчний салбарт хөрөнгө оруулалт хийхээ зарлалаа.
Энэхүү шийдвэр нь өмнөх консерватив засгийн газрын гаргасан бодлогыг үргэлжлүүлж буй хэрэг боловч тухайн үед шүүхээс уг шийдвэрийг хууль бус гэж үзэж байсан юм. Одоогийн засгийн газар үүнийг “шинэ төсөл” биш, харин “оршин буй төсөл” гэж үзэн дахин хянаж ийнхүү зөвшөөрөл олголоо. Үүнтэй зэрэгцэн засгийн газар гоо сайхны мэс ажилбарын салбарт хатуу зохицуулалт хийхээр төлөвлөж байгаа бөгөөд ялангуяа мэргэжлийн бус этгээдүүдийн гүйцэтгэдэг өндөр эрсдэлтэй процедуруудыг хязгаарлах арга хэмжээ авч байна.
double quotation mark Эцэст нь шийдвэр гарлаа. Консерватив нам хоёр жилийн өмнө баталсан шийдвэрийг лейбористууд хоёр жил “цаг үрсэн” байдлаар хэлэлцлээ. Хэрэв тэд үүнийг зун хийсэн бол энэ зул сараар бид Британийн гэрийг дулаацуулах хийтэй байх байсан.
Энэ бол Кеми Баденокийн Jackdaw-ийн шийдвэрийн талаарх байр суурь юм.
Sky News-ийн Софи Риж өөрийн олон нийтийн сүлжээнд Миатта Фанбуллехтэй хийсэн ярилцлагын бүрэн эх сурвалжийг байршуулжээ. Гэвч Британийн ирээдүйг судлах төвийн шинжээч Сундер Катвалагийн тэмдэглэснээр, бусад сайд нар ч мөн өнгөрсөн жил танилцуулсан анхны саналыг хамгаалахаас татгалзаж байна.
double quotation mark Транскриптийг харах нь хэрэгтэй байна. Гэхдээ Дотоод хэргийн сайд ч, Ерөнхий сайд ч одоогийн байдлаар урьдчилсан зөвлөлдөх саналуудыг олон нийтийн өмнө хамгаалахгүй байгааг тэмдэглэх нь зүйтэй.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Labour accused of ‘climate vandalism’ by Green leader Polanski after Jackdaw gasfield approved
Good morning. After months of delay, the government has taken a decision on one of the most difficult climate crisis/energy supply challenges on the table. It has approved the Jackdaw gasfield, east of Aberdeen. Peter Walker and Kiran Stacey have the story here.
Here is the government’s news release. And if you want to all the technical documents relating to the decision, you will find them here.
At the last election, Labour said it would not approve new oil and gas licences for the North Sea, but that it would allow existing projects to go ahead. But two projects that had been approved by the Tories – Jackdaw, and the Rosebank oilfield – were blocked by the courts who ordered a rethink, and Labour decided to treat them as existing projects, not brand new ones. But that did not mean Jackdaw and Rosebank were automatically going to be approved.
Over the past 12 months or so, largely as a result of high global energy prices, the public and political debate has shifted, and pressure to allow more ongoing North Sea extraction got stronger. Today’s decision did not come as a surprise. But the Rosebank decision will be a much tougher one because its carbon emissions are far higher than Jackdaw’s, and the environmental argument against it is stronger.
In a statement, Andy Burnham described today’s decision as an example of the “pragmatic approach” he wants to take to energy policy. He said:
double quotation mark I welcome the energy secretary’s decision, which will protect hundreds of jobs and help keep millions of homes warm this winter. At a time when people are really struggling, it’s right that we look in a responsible way at maximising the existing energy reserves we have in Britain that could help.We’re committed to moving towards renewable energy and reaching net zero by 2050. But even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come. That’s why we’re taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea. We’re also establishing a new Energy Wealth Fund to invest in renewable energy, support the green transition and help reduce energy bills over the long-term.
Some Labour figures are alarmed at the decision, but so far there has been very little public criticism of the move from the party’s MPs. The other main parties support Jackdaw going ahead. But the Greens have denounced the decision very strongly. This is from their leader, Zack Polanski.
double quotation mark This is climate vandalism.Today’s decision by Labour is a betrayal of all of our futures, Labour has abandoned all credibility in the fight against climate change.
The energy secretary has herself said it will make no difference to energy bills; the health secretary has admitted the summer heatwave added to pressure on the NHS, and the industry’s own assessment is that it will create only 27 jobs.
This is a victory for Shell over the people.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Douglas Alexander, the Scottish secretary, is on a visit to a gas terminal in Peterhead to promote the Jackdaw decision.
Noon: Andy Burnham faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, is expected to make a statement to MPs about the Jackdaw decision.
2.10pm: Michelle O’Neill, Northern Ireland’s first minister, and Emma Little-Pengelly, the deputy first minister, give evidence to Stormont’s executive office committee.
Afternoon: Burnham welcomes Haitham bin Tariq, the Sultan of Oman, to Downing Street.
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Key events
Burnham faces Badenoch at PMQs
PMQs is starting soon.
Here is the list of MPs who have a question.
Government to crack down on ‘cosmetic cowboys’
The government has launched a crackdown on “cosmetic cowboys” performing liquid Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs) on the high street in a bid to drive out rogue operators and raise standards across the board, the Press Association reports. PA says:
double quotation mark Ministers said that patients who choose to have cosmetic procedures deserve to know they are in safe hands and not risking their lives.The government also remains committed to bringing in a licensing scheme to ensure “lower risk” treatments such as Botox and lip fillers remain safe.
Under the new rules, treatments that involve injecting fillers anywhere other than the face, such as BBLs, would be legally defined as cosmetic surgical procedures – meaning they can only be performing by qualified medics.
Other high-risk treatments such as deep chemical peels and vampire facials – which use microneedling to inject platelets drawn from a patient’s own blood back into the face – would be restricted to doctors, dentists, some nurses, midwives and pharmacists.
Those who flout the rules could be hit with unlimited fines or fixed penalties up to £4,000.
Sophy Ridge from Sky News has posted on social media the full transcript from the part of her interview where she tried, and failed, to get Miatta Fahnbulleh to say that she backed the Home Office plan to make some migrants wait 15 years for indefinite leave to remain.
But Sunder Katwala, from British Future, a thinktank focusing on race, identity and migration, says that other ministers are also refusing to defend the original proposals that were published last year.
double quotation mark v useful to see the transcript. But worth noting that neither the Home Secretary nor PM will publicly defend the pre-consultation proposals either nowHome Sec called it “policy to be settled” at select committee. Her conference speech says it will be fair. PM says ‘fresh eyes’
There will be two statements in the Commons after PMQs. First, the energy minister Michael Shanks will deliver one about Jackdaw. And then Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will give one about the review into antisemitism in schools.
Richard Adams has a story about that review here.
This is from Kemi Badenoch on the Jackdaw decision.
double quotation mark Finally. Labour spent 2 years faffing about to make a decision which Conservatives had already approved 2 years ago.If they’d done this in the summer we’d have had that gas heating British homes this Christmas.
An unnecessary waste of time and money by a party that puts its own interest above the country’s.
(The last government did approve the Jackdaw development. But that decsion was ruled unlawful, which is why Labour chose to do it again.)

Fahnbulleh declines to back Mahmood’s proposal to make some migrant workers wait 15 years for indefinite leave to remain
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, has declined to back the home secretary’s plan to make some migrant workers wait up to 15 years before they can apply for permanent residency in the UK (indefinite leave to remain, or ILF).
Earlier this week, it emerged that she published a comment criticising the plan on her constituency website – before she removed it supposedly because it was a poorly-phrased summary of her position drafted by an aide.
In interviews today, asked specifically if she backed migrants having to wait for up to 15 years for ILR, she refused to support this proposal.
Asked about this on Sky News, she said:
double quotation mark We have got to reform our immigration system, and my view is that we need a system that is based on the principle of compassion, contribution.And so there is a package of reforms. The home secretary [Shabana Mahmood] has been consulting on this. She’s looking at the range of responses, and she will come out with the measures that we take forward.
No-one can look at our immigration system – and I say this as someone that came to this country as a refugee – and not believe that it’s broken and not believe that we need to fundamentally reform it.
But our principles has to be a system where we’ve got control, but ultimately a system that when people do come to this country, they are able to integrate, they are able to contribute, and that we both respect but also value that contribution.
Mahmood is proposing most migrant workers should have to wait 10 years for ILF, not five years as now. But under her plans foreign care workers would have to wait 15 years.
Fahnbulleh came to the UK as a child refugee from Liberia.
In its splash story today, the Times says Mahmood is “fighting a rearguard action to save her migration reforms in the face of mounting public criticism from cabinet colleagues”.
The report says:
double quotation mark Andy Burnham, the prime minister, is considering exempting care workers from plans to extend the qualifying period for claiming indefinite leave to remain (ILR) from five years to 15 years.However, the Home Office has argued that the move could backfire because it could lead to an exodus of foreign care workers from their jobs once they gained permanent residence and were no longer bound by the terms of their visas.
The Science Media Centre, which publishes comments from scientists on stories in the news, has published reaction this morning to the Jackdaw decision from four academics specialising in climate science. None of them are enthusiastic. Two of them are critical (one extremely critical), while two of them argue the decision has modest benefits.
(They are all fully committed to the transition to renewables.)
The most positive comment is probably this one, from Prof Jon Gluyas, emeritus chair in geoenergy carbon capture and storage at Durham University.
double quotation mark Development of Jackdaw will improve UK energy security and reduce the UK’s emissions because it will displace imported LNG, some of which has emissions as high as burning coal.
And the most negative is probably this one, from Richard Sulley, senior research fellow in sustainability policy at the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures.
double quotation mark Why approve the Jackdaw gas field? It makes no sense economically, it will create only 27 jobs, and some modest tax receipts for the exchequer. Environmentally if it displaces imported LNG it will reduce emissions marginally, but if it displaces Norwegian gas they will be worse. It will do nothing for the cost of living, the volume extracted will be too small to have a material impact on the global markets. There’s no energy security benefit, it in fact keeps UK industries and consumers exposed to the international markets that set prices and the wills of foreign governments who can control the flow of resources.
Climate campaigners condemn ‘maddening’ decision to approve Jackdaw gasfield
Fiona Harvey, the Guardian’s environment editor, has more here on climate campaigners condemning the Jackdaw decision.
Jackdaw development will create 27 new jobs, and safeguard 273 existing ones, government says
The government itself has admitted that the Jackdaw development will only create a small number of new jobs. This is from the small print of its news release.
double quotation mark The developer estimates that Jackdaw will create 27 new direct jobs and safeguard 273 existing jobs that would otherwise be lost. The developer also estimates that the project will add around £2.9 billion to the UK economy.Over its lifetime, Jackdaw is estimated to produce gas with an energy equivalent to around 40 million barrels of oil.

