Over 80 MPs and MSPs Unite Against Rosebank Oil Field Plans

London, United Kingdom Jul 14, 2026 ALN: A group of more than 80 MPs and MSPs have signed a pledge to oppose the planned Rosebank oil field.

The site, which lies to the north-west of the Shetland Islands, was previously approved for drilling by the last Conservative government.

However, after a legal challenge by Greenpeace and Uplift, that decision was found to be unlawful by the Court of Session.

The owners of the field, Norwegian state energy company Equinor and Israeli-owned Ithaca Energy through joint venture Adura, have resubmitted the application, with the final decision resting with Westminster energy secretary Ed Miliband.

Related News:

• Jackdaw environmental impact released as consultation opens
• SNP MSP breaks rank and calls for Jackdaw and Rosebank approval
• Scottish Labour MPs urge UK Government to approve new oil and gas

A new environmental impact assessment was made public last week, with the Observer reporting Mr. Miliband is minded to approve the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen but not Rosebank.

The Labour Party manifesto pledged not to issue any new licenses to explore new oil and gas fields.

More than 80 MPs and MSPs from various parties have signed a pledge opposing approval for Rosebank, which they say would do nothing to lower bills or provide energy security, while contributing to climate change.

The Met Office said on Monday that more than 2,700 people are thought to have died from heat-related causes during the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales.

Signatories include former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and former deputy leader John McDonnell, along with the party's Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman.

MSPs include Ross Greer, Maggie Chapman, and Carol Mochan, but as of Monday evening, Q Manivannan of the Scottish Greens was yet to sign the pledge.

Chris Law, the SNP MP for Dundee Central, is the only member of his party to have signed the pledge thus far.

Chris Murray, Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, stated: “Now, more than ever, we need politicians willing to stand strong on climate action as the country swelters through record-breaking heatwaves, in the hottest summer of our lives - so far.”

“The consequences of climate change are clear to see - whether that is emergency services stretched by tackling heatwaves, farmers struggling through droughts, or towns coping with the economic and human impacts of flooding.

“Further drilling for fossil fuels is madness when we face these challenges.”

Robert Palmer, deputy director of Uplift, remarked: “Climate change is already claiming lives in this country. These heatwaves are killing people who would otherwise still be with their loved ones. And unless we break our dependence on fossil fuels, it will only get worse.”

“The science couldn't be clearer: the world already has far more oil and gas than can ever be burned safely if we want to maintain a liveable climate for ourselves and future generations.

“Rosebank won't cut energy bills or deliver energy security – it's overwhelmingly oil for export. Yet burning its oil would produce climate pollution equivalent to around 70% of the UK's annual emissions, making it impossible to square with safe climate limits.

“Despite the fact that the case for more North Sea drilling doesn’t add up, some politicians have an almost Trumpian obsession with it. At a time when climate change is already having a terrifying cost, doubling down on fossil fuels is playing with people's lives.

“We need a government that puts lower bills, a safer climate, and secure jobs ahead of oil company profits, and ensures the clean energy boom benefits UK workers and their communities. Rosebank is about private profit, not the public interest.”

MPs and MSPs Who Have Pledged to Oppose Rosebank

• Abtisam Mohamed (Labour - Sheffield Central)
• Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
• Adrian Ramsay (Green Party - Waveney Valley)
• Alex Brewer (Liberal Democrat - North East Hampshire)
• Alex Sobel (Labour - Leeds Central and Headingley)
• Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
• Andrew George (Liberal Democrat - St Ives)
• Anna Sabine (Liberal Democrat - Frome and East Somerset)
• Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour - Clapham and Brixton Hill)
• Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
• Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
• Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
• Brian Mathew (Liberal Democrat - Melksham and Devizes)
• Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
• Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
• Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Wyre)
• Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
• Chris Law (SNP - Dundee Central)
• Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
• Claire Hanna (SDLP - Belfast South and Mid Down)
• Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
• Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
• Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat- St Albans)
• Dawn Butler (Labour - Brent East)
• Diane Abbott (Labour - Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
• Dr Ellie Chowns (Green Party - North Herefordshire)
• Dr Roz Savage (Liberal Democrat - South Cotswolds)
• Dr Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
• Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
• Hannah Spencer (Green Party - Gorton and Denton)
• Ian Byrne (Independent - Liverpool West Derby)
• Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
• Jeremy Corbyn (Independent - Islington North)
• John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
• John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
• Jon Trickett (Labour - Normanton and Hemsworth)
• Joshua Reynolds (Liberal Democrat - Maidenhead)
• Kate Osamor (Labour - Edmonton and Winchmore Hill)
• Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
• Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
• Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
• Luke Taylor (Liberal Democrat - Sutton and Cheam)
• Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
• Monica Harding (Liberal Democrat - Esher and Walton)
• Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
• Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
• Paul Maskey (Sinn Fein - Belfast West)
• Richard Burgon (Independent - Leeds East)
• Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour - North Somerset)
• Sarah Dyke (Liberal Democrat - Glastonbury and Somerton)
• Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
• Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
• Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
• Sorcha Eastwood (Alliance - Lagan Valley)
• Stella Creasy (Labour - Walthamstow)
• Steve Witherden (Labour - Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr)
• Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
• Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
• Victoria Collins (Liberal Democrat - Harpenden and Berkhamsted)
• Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
• Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
• Zarah Sultana (Independent - Coventry South)
• Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
• Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
• Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
• Anna Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
• Llinos Medi (Plaid Cymru - Ynys Mon)
• Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
• Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
• Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
• Rachael Maskell (Labour Co-op - York Central)
• Ariane Burgess (Scottish Greens - Highlands and Islands)
• Cara McKee (Scottish Greens - West Scotland)
• Carol Mochan (Scottish Labour - South Scotland)
• Gillian Mackay (Scottish Greens - Central Scotland and Lothians West)
• Holly Bruce (Scottish Greens - Glasgow Southside)
• Kate Nevens (Scottish Greens - Edinburgh and Lothians East)
• Katy Clark (Scottish Labour - West Scotland)
• Laura Moodie (Scottish Greens - South Scotland)
• Lorna Slater (Scottish Greens - Edinburgh Central)
• Maggie Chapman (Scottish Greens - North East Scotland)
• Mark Ruskell (Scottish Greens - Mid Scotland and Fife)
• Ross Greer (Scottish Greens - West Scotland)