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The Prime Minister must rein in Ed Miliband to tackle the cost of living and bring down bills for British families, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Conservative leader turned up the pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to overrule his ‘dogmatic Energy Secretary’ as the war in Iran squeezes already overstretched household budgets.
With the former Labour leader looking increasingly isolated amongst Cabinet colleagues, Ms Badenoch said the PM must ‘stop this madness’ and access untapped energy reserves in the North Sea.
Writing in the Daily Mail, the Tory leader said: ‘If Starmer had a backbone he would have sacked Miliband long ago. If he was truly serious about “growth” being his number one priority, he would have appointed someone else to the job.
‘If he was actually determined to tackle the cost of living and bring down bills for British families and businesses, he would have shown Miliband the door.’
Pressure has been mounting on the Government to reverse the ban on new exploration of the North Sea as costs spiral and fuel supplies dwindle amid the crisis in the Middle East.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also raised speculation of a Cabinet rift by saying she is 'happy' to see drilling due to the jobs and tax boost, although she appeared to be referring to existing projects. Meanwhile unions led by the GMB have also been piling further pressure on Labour.
It comes after it emerged that Mr Miliband could approve the development of the Jackdaw gas field but is said to remain opposed to the UK’s largest untapped oil field at Rosebank.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is under mounting pressure to issue new licences for drilling oil and gas off the Scottish coast
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said that if Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 'had a backbone he would have sacked Miliband long ago'
Ms Badenoch welcomed what could be a ‘partial and belated U-turn’, but said there is ‘still no clarity on what Miliband might approve or when’.
‘Once again Starmer is being pulled helplessly along for the ride while the real leader of the Labour Party makes the actual decisions that matter,’ she added.
However a spokesman for Mr Miliband hit back, saying: ‘Kemi Badenoch can throw around insults but it won’t cut people’s bills or deliver energy security.
'Ed is getting on with the job, driving clean, homegrown power that delivers growth and protects families from volatile fossil fuel markets.’
Energy experts on Friday joined the Tory leader in urging the Government to approve a major North Sea gas field as uncertainty over energy supplies continues amid the war in Iran.
Lord John Browne, former chief executive of BP, said the Jackdaw field should ‘absolutely’ be approved as ‘we don't have enough diversification today to take care of crises’.
David Whitehouse, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK, said: ‘This is not an either renewables or oil and gas scenario.
‘We urgently need greater supplies of secure, domestically produced energy including oil and gas, which will remain a critical part of the UK energy system and economy for decades.’
Their intervention came after the Times reported that Mr Miliband is minded to approve the Jackdaw project, but a source close to him said that is not the case.
The Jackdaw project has been awaiting the Energy Secretary’s approval since 2024, after the High Court ruled that a previous licence was invalid because it had not considered the carbon emissions generated from burning the gas it produced.
Before the election, he said that allowing the Rosebank oil project to go ahead would be an act of ‘climate vandalism’ and he has insisted that approving new drilling licences would not lower bills.
A source close to Mr Miliband described claims he was minded to block Rosebank and approve Jackdaw as ‘pure speculation’ and said that a decision was always due to be made in the autumn.
The source added: ‘We do not recognise this unfounded speculation. We cannot comment on live planning decisions, and these decisions will be made in an appropriate and timely manner, after the last governments plans were found to be unlawful.’
And the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'The speculation today is wrong. No decisions on Jackdaw have been made - it is incorrect to suggest otherwise.
'The developers have confirmed the process is ongoing, and the independent regulator has recently requested further information before any final decision can be taken.'