Labour MPs May Save The Electric-Car Rule By Leaving The Gas On

Some Labour MPs are considering a bargain: stay quiet about the newly approved Jackdaw gasfield, and perhaps the government will leave the electric-vehicle mandate alone.

That is a sharp negotiating position for a government to occupy. It can offer its own MPs the continued existence of one climate policy in exchange for less trouble over another. No rival party needs to participate. Labour has discovered an internal market for not disappointing itself quite so much.

The Guardian reports that some MPs want that compromise over Jackdaw and potentially Rosebank, the separate oilfield whose decision is still pending. Weakening the EV mandate is also under consideration. This is a proposed political trade, not an agreement already struck. One MP argues the vehicle rule matters more for long-term emissions. There is a practical calculation here; it is the government’s terms that deserve inspection.

What does the quiet buy? It does not buy cheaper gas. Campaigners say Jackdaw’s output will be sold into international markets, and Green leader Zack Polanski points to the energy secretary’s own acknowledgment that it will not change energy bills. North Sea geography turns out not to be a household discount code.

Nor does the silence buy a sprawling new workforce. Greenpeace UK’s Ami McCarthy says the project will create 27 full-time jobs; Polanski also cites the industry’s figure of 27. That is a claim about jobs created, not a count of everyone associated with the project. But the small new-job number is doing a great deal of service beneath the government's larger claim of pragmatism.

There are supporters, including the Conservatives, Reform and Unite’s Sharon Graham. The labor movement is not speaking with one voice: ten other unions signed a statement opposing Rosebank last week. The argument cannot be settled by pointing to a hard hat and declaring the person under it unanimous.

For the MPs seeking the EV compromise, the attraction is understandable. Save the larger emissions policy, swallow the smaller retreat. But a concession usually involves the other side giving something up. Here the requested gift is that ministers refrain from weakening a policy they already have.

Rosebank’s decision is still pending. If silence over Jackdaw helps preserve the EV mandate, MPs may want to save some breath. The government has another field, and they have not yet been quoted the price of objecting.