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65% of Labour voters want Government to approve Rosebank oil field – survey

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Bussey, K. (2026, November 5). 65% of Labour voters want Government to approve Rosebank oil field – survey. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/labour-uk-government-andy-burnham-government-keir-starmer-b1303693.html

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Evening Standard · collected 2026-11-05 · by Katrine Bussey

Quick Summary

A survey conducted by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) shows that 65% of those who voted Labour in the 2024 election support government approval for the Rosebank oil field project, despite Labour's manifesto pledge against new licences. The poll, which surveyed 2,050 adults, found overall public support with 55% favoring increased domestic production and 63% backing Rosebank specifically. OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse emphasized that supporting North Sea projects aligns with public opinion and strengthens the economy, while Labour faces criticism for disregarding voter sentiment on oil and gas extraction.
Written by AI on 2026-11-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Polling conducted by Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) on November 5, 2026, revealed that 65% of Labour voters want the UK Government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham to approve the Rosebank oil field off the coast of Shetland. Despite a previous pledge in the 2024 Labour manifesto by Sir Keir Starmer to not grant new licences for oil and gas, only 17% of Labour supporters now oppose the project. The survey also found that 68% of Labour voters agree with the government's decision to approve the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen. OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse stated that these results reflect public support for increasing domestic oil and gas production, including Rosebank, which is considered essential for energy security.

Written for “Labour Voters Support Rosebank Oil FieldApproval” on 2026-11-06, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Labour Voters Support Rosebank Oil FieldApproval
Politics · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 11 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 64/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the political stance on North Sea drilling, with Article A focusing on a survey of Labour voters and Article B reporting on John Swinney's stance against Labour's ban.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss related issues but describe different events: Article A reports on a survey of Labour voters, while Article B covers an MP's reaction to Burnham's ban on North Sea oil drilling.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 8989 article(s) · 74 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 74 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Katrine Bussey
47 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 AI data centres earmarked for sites in Scotland could cause ‘local shortage of energy’ and soaring fuel bills, government officials admit.
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🔮 Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17%) of the party’s voters said Rosebank – which lies to the north-west of Shetland – should be rejected.
🔮 Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging that no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17%) of the party’s voters said that Rosebank – which lies to the north west of Shetland – should be rejected.
🔮 Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging that no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17%) of the party’s voters said that Rosebank – which lies to the north west of Shetland – should be rejected.
🔮 Speaking to journalists during a visit to the BAE Systems shipyard in Scotstoun, Glasgow, the Defence Secretary said: “I don’t think the SNP should be playing party politics with national defence and security, we would much rather work with them.
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2026-10-17 · assertive framing · SNP members back resolution supporting UK-wide ban on X
Also by Katrine Bussey
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 47 articles by Katrine Bussey →

Topics

Conservative Labour Polling for Offshore Energies UK Rosebank the UK Government

Subjects

Labour ORG · 7× Rosebank GPE · 5× Andy Burnham PERSON · 3× Conservative NORP · 2× the UK Government ORG · 2× Aberdeen GPE · 1× Keir Starmer PERSON · 1× Opinium ORG · 1× Polling for Offshore Energies UK ORG · 1× Shetland GPE · 1×

Narrative

He added: “The public are clearly in agreement with the new Prime Minister’s ‘pragmatic’ policy on the North Sea, which will once again be tested as the final decision on Rosebank is made in the coming months.” Mr Whitehouse went on to say that “investing in North Sea energy strengthens Britain’s economy, supports UK supply chains and industrial communities, and builds our energy resilience”.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-06
🔮 Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging that no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17%) of the party’s voters said that Rosebank – which lies to the north west of Shetland – should be rejected.
2026-11-06 · Evening Standard
65% of Labour voters want Government to approve Rosebank oil field – survey · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 1 hedged)

65% of Labour voters want Government to approve Rosebank oil field – survey asserted
Government → want → field
Polling for Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) found 65% of those who backed Labour in the 2024 general election wanted to see the project – which is the largest undeveloped oil field in UK waters – get the green light. asserted
which → find → light
Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging that no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17%) of the party’s voters said that Rosebank – which lies to the north west of Shetland – should be rejected. asserted
which → pledge → Shetland
With the UK Government, now under Andy Burnham, having already approved the Jackdaw gas field off the coast of Aberdeen, the Opinium research found 68% of Labour supporters agreed this was the right decision. asserted
this → approve → supporters
Almost three quarters (72%) of those who voted for the party in 2024 agreed that oil and gas are “essential for the foreseeable future”. asserted
oil → vote → future
The polling – which questioned 2,050 adults across the UK – found that overall 55% of people were in favour of increasing the country’s domestic oil and gas production, with more than three out of five (63%) saying Rosebank should be given the go-ahead. asserted
Rosebank → question → ahead
OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse said the survey results “offer Government an opportunity to align with public opinion and start working through the pipeline of North Sea projects that are awaiting approval”. asserted
that → say → approval
He added: “The public are clearly in agreement with the new Prime Minister’s ‘pragmatic’ policy on the North Sea, which will once again be tested as the final decision on Rosebank is made in the coming months.” Mr Whitehouse went on to say that “investing in North Sea energy strengthens Britain’s economy, supports UK supply chains and industrial communities, and builds our energy resilience”. asserted
investing → add → resilience
His comments came after the UK Government introduced its Energy Independence Bill, which includes a commitment to issue no new oil and gas licences to explore new fields in the North Sea. asserted
which → come → Sea
Rosebank had however previously been granted a licence by the Conservative government – though it was later ruled that this was unlawful leading to the project having to be considered again. asserted
project → grant → government
Speaking about the new legislation Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “Through this Bill, we will build a clean energy future which people feel in their pockets, households and communities, ensuring support reaches those who need it most.” asserted
who → speak → it
Conservative shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said the new poll showed that “the message from the public could not be louder or clearer – support the extraction of North Sea oil and gas before it’s too late”. uncertain
it → say → oil
Mr Bowie, the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, added: “This poll shows that Labour are blatantly ignoring the needs of the public, and even their own voters. asserted
Labour → add → public
“These findings make yesterday’s move by Labour to ban any new exploration for oil and gas in the North Sea even more ludicrous, highlighting how disconnected they are from what people in the real world think. asserted
people → make → world
“The reality is Andy Burnham is scared to back oil and gas because he is too weak to stand up against net zero zealots, both inside and outside his party. asserted
he → scar → party
“If Labour continue to wage war on oil and gas then it’s inevitable businesses will cut jobs and head for the exit, never to return. asserted
businesses → continue → exit
“That is why Andy Burnham must stop his reckless playground politics, listen to the public, and finally approve Rosebank to ensure North Sea drilling continues for years to come.” asserted
drilling → stop → years
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