Two of Monmouthshire’s leading politicians have found themselves at loggerheads over the issue of oil drilling and gas field developments in the North Sea.

The Labour MP for Monmouthshire, Catherine Fookes, has written to the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to ask him to block the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field developments. In what could be seen as a slight breakaway from the new Labour Leader’s so-called ‘pragmatic’ approach to resources in the North Sea, Ms Fookes has said she remains committed to the party’s 2024 manifesto pledge, which stated there would be no new licenses issued for the drilling of North Sea oil and gas.

“Climate change is here and getting worse,” she said.

“The wildfires we have seen across South Wales this summer should be a wake-up call to us all. Granting licences for the Jackdaw gas field and Rosebank oil field will exacerbate climate change, not reduce it, and it will not take a penny off people’s energy bills.”

“I oppose any new drilling, and so do many of the constituents who have contacted me about this issue in recent months.Instead, we must continue to invest in the green transition and in renewable sources of energy. That is how we can build a cleaner, more secure energy system for the future.”

Meanwhile, Conservative MS for Sir Fynwy Torfaen, Peter Fox MS, has accused Ms Fookes of being “out of touch” with voters, stating that a further incoming rise in the energy price cap makes it expedient for measures which could lower the cost of energy to be taken.

The typical household energy will rise to £1,723 per year when the energy price cap rises 4 per cent later this year, with higher international gas prices identified as the main driver. It is this, Mr Fox says, that means extracting gas from the North Sea is necessary to bring down energy bills.

However, according to Ms Fookes, the Jackdaw gas project would only meet around 2 per cent of the UK’s current gas usage which, while occupied with 250 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its lifetime, would have little impact on household bills. The MP also cited the local impact of the recent wildfire crisis in South Wales, when Abergavenny and the surrounding areas were badly affected by pollution from incidents in Blaenavon and on Llangynidr Moors.

Mr Fox argues that families in Monmouthshire are more concerned with spiralling energy costs and reaffirmed his party’s support for both projects in the North Sea, claiming that the transition to greener fuels cannot happen ‘overnight’.

“This intervention by our MP has also showed further divisions within the Labour party, with this letter urging the Prime Minister to reject these projects, yet reports suggesting his government may be moving towards approval,” he said.

“We all recognise the need to move to greener fuels, but this cannot be overnight, and must be done correctly. Catherine Fookes now finds herself to the left of her own Prime Minister on this issue.”

"I fully support the Rosebank and Jackdaw developments, as do the Conservatives nationally, because Britain will continue to need oil and gas for years to come and it makes far more sense to produce more of that energy here at home than import it from overseas.”