North Sea oil is a litmus test for Burnham | Letters

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The Brent oil field in the North Sea.
The Brent oil field in the North Sea. Photograph: Martin Langer/Alamy

Letters: John Barstow says oil expansion is a necessity, while David Parker wonders if the prime minister will protect the planet or the fossil fuel industry

North Sea oil expansion is a necessity (Burnham risks first revolt as PM over apparent support for North Sea drilling, 31 July). I state this as an environmentalist – not despite. Oil is a feedstock, not mere fuel. Oil is necessary for the day-to-day maintenance of wind turbines, nuclear plants and rail. Hence oil is part and parcel of supply chains for green tech. A domestic oil base brings such supply chains closer. This also underscores the case for approval of coking coal extraction in Cumbria. Green tech needs high-grade steel and high-grade steel needs coking coal.

There are much better ways of helping the environment, such as more tree planting and stopping plastic waste being dumped into our seas. The carbon sink factor would be helped. A major expansion of the UK’s North Sea oil sector will make a more cohesive UK, complete with more jobs in Scotland and the north of England, including in supply manufacturing chains.

On these grounds, the full approval of North Sea oil expansion is an absolute litmus test of Andy Burnham’s credibility given his talk of reindustrialising.
John Barstow
Fittleworth, West Sussex

• Burnham’s avowed pragmatism appears to be disappointingly deficient as far as North Sea oil is concerned. His pragmatic antennae should be telling him that new drilling will bring insignificant gain in exchange for a considerable dent in the renewed optimism and the support which he has so far generated.

Rightly or wrongly, he will be perceived to have bowed to the oil and gas lobby, which is intent on burning the planet. He is reported as saying: “The question isn’t whether Britain will still be using oil and gas, the question is where does it come from.” Wrong. The question is which side is our prime minister on and seen to be on: the planet’s or that of the fossil fuel industry?
David Parker
Holmfirth, West Yorkshire

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