# UK Government Expected to Approve Jackdaw Gas Field

> The UK Labour government is set to approve the Jackdaw North Sea gas field on October 21, 2026, a decision anticipated to spark controversy due to the party's 2024 manifesto pledge against new oil and gas licenses.

By PrimaryBrief newsroom · Published 2026-10-20T18:46:08.530563Z
Canonical: https://primarybrief.com/article/uk-government-expected-to-approve-jackdaw-gas-field-77b29df7

The UK Labour government is expected to approve the Jackdaw North Sea gas field on October 21, 2026, a project that could eventually account for 6% of North Sea gas production [11]. This decision is anticipated to challenge the Labour party's 2024 manifesto commitment to issue no new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea [6][7][8][13].

This approval holds significant implications for Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his administration, raising questions about Labour's environmental promises and the UK's broader climate goals. Environmental groups are likely to react strongly, viewing the move as a potential setback for climate action [1][11].

## What Records Show

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and Chancellor John Healey are scheduled to announce the approval from Aberdeen on Wednesday morning [1]. The decision follows more than a year of deliberations regarding whether such an approval would conflict with the UK's climate commitments [1][2]. Labour's 2024 manifesto explicitly pledged against issuing “no new oil and gas licences for the North Sea” [6][7][8][9][10][13]. However, some within the Labour party argue that approving the Jackdaw field does not violate this pledge [7][9][10][13]. They contend that Jackdaw is not a new license, as its development was already in motion before Labour came to power [7][8][9][10]. Environmental groups like Uplift, however, maintain that such an approval undermines Labour's climate credibility [11]. Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, stated that “No new oil and gasfields are compatible with safe climate limits” [11].

## The Disputed Project

Jackdaw is one of two major North Sea projects, alongside the Rosebank oil field, whose future fell to the Labour government after a legal challenge [7][8][10]. The previous Conservative government had approved the Jackdaw field in 2022, citing the need to protect the UK from energy market fluctuations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine [11]. However, a landmark ruling last year challenged the environmental approval for both Jackdaw and Rosebank, stating that regulators should have considered the carbon emissions from burning the oil and gas produced by these fields when assessing their climate impact [11][12]. This legal challenge necessitated a fresh decision from the current Labour government [7][12].

## Political Pressure

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has indicated a “pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea” since taking office [6][7][8][10]. This approach has drawn criticism from environmental organizations, which have pressed him to “stick to the spirit of Labour's manifesto commitment” and reject the projects [6][7][8][9][10][12]. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS), a coalition of environmental groups, warned Burnham and Energy Secretary Fahnbulleh that “the consequences of climate change are already being felt” and linked potential emissions to future heat-related deaths [12]. Opposition figures have also weighed in, with Shadow Energy Secretary Andrew Bowie commenting, “At last, Labour have had to be dragged kicking and screaming into approving Jackdaw. But nobody should mistake one gas field for a change of heart” [7]. International pressure also plays a role, with former US President Donald Trump having previously urged the UK to maximize North Sea oil and gas production, claiming the UK is “sitting on top of gold” [7].

## What we could not confirm

We could not confirm the precise timeline for a decision on the Rosebank oil field, though Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has stated it would take “a bit longer” than Jackdaw and would likely be decided separately [7][8][9][10][11].

## Evidence cited
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3. Three months of PM Andy Burnham: Can he sustain the ‘hope vibe’? (www.aljazeera.com) — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/20/three-months-of-pm-andy-burnham-can-he-sustain-the-hope-vibe?traffic_source=rss
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5. U.S. Natural Gas Futures Test Support at $3/mmBtu (www.wsj.com) — https://www.wsj.com/finance/commodities-futures/european-gas-prices-rise-as-geopolitical-risks-intensify-3222a858?mod=rss_markets_main
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