Phillip Coop

Exclusive with @Jess_Shankleman @ChaplainChloe Cabinet ministers are lobbying Andy Burnham and Miatta Fahnbulleh to approve drilling at the Rosebank oil field and privately believe the decision is heading in their favour A majority of the cabinet supports the project, as do some senior advisers to Burnham in Downing Street, according to two officials The government stresses no decision has been taken and that ultimate responsibility lies with Fahnbulleh, who has previously indicated her opposition The decision has been expected by the end of the year but it is unlikely to come in the next few weeks, a person familiar with the matter said Proponents within government argue that Rosebank can be approved without breaching UK emissions targets and that not doing so would mean a fiscal cost because the Treasury has accounted for future tax revenues on the basis that it would be approved Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has urged Fahnbulleh to sign off on Rosebank, and it is also supported by the major Unite and GMB trade unions, although 10 other unions have opposed the project A government official said approving both Jackdaw and Rosebank while banning new North Sea exploration in line with Labour’s manifesto commitments would be a balanced energy policy that manages the transition to net zero responsibly and not ideologically However, some Labour MPs said their environmental objections to the Jackdaw approval were more muted than they could have been only because Fahnbulleh heavily hinted a different approach would be taken to Rosebank The lack of expectation management could result in more backlash from within the party if Rosebank is approved, they warned bloomberg.com/news/articles/…