Southwark Council has urged the Government to reconsider its support for the Jackdaw gas field, arguing that investment should instead accelerate renewable energy and reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels. The council’s statement is a political response to the Government’s decision; it does not change or reverse that decision.
The authority said the country should focus on clean energy at a time when communities are experiencing the impacts of climate change. Its position builds on a motion passed by Southwark’s Council Assembly in September opposing new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
A council position, not a change to the consent
The Government announced that the Energy Secretary had agreed that the North Sea Transition Authority could grant consent for gas production at Jackdaw. The field is already licensed, but production requires separate consent. The Government said Jackdaw could begin supplying gas from the end of October and described the decision as support for domestic supply, jobs and energy security.
Southwark’s intervention is a call for the Government to reconsider its support. It is not a regulatory decision, a new legal challenge or a change in the project’s approval status. The council’s statement does not say that the project’s consent has been withdrawn, nor does it announce any new formal step to halt production.
The distinction matters because the public debate now includes both the Government’s decision and responses from groups that oppose it. Southwark is setting out its own policy view as a local authority. The council says a different investment priority would be preferable, but the statement itself cannot determine whether Jackdaw proceeds.
September motion sets out the council’s policy
The September Council Assembly motion committed Southwark to oppose new oil and gas extraction in the North Sea. It also supported increased investment in renewable energy and clean power, and called for urgent action at national and local level to address the climate emergency.
The council presents its latest statement as consistent with those commitments. Its argument is that investment should speed up the transition to clean energy rather than reinforce reliance on fossil fuels. That is the council’s policy position, not an independent assessment of the project’s likely effects on energy prices, emissions or supply.
Southwark has also said that approving new drilling would not reduce residents’ bills in the borough. This reflects the council’s criticism of the decision; it should not be read as a Government finding or a quantified forecast included in the statement.
Climate executive criticises the decision
Councillor Eloise Waldon-Day, the council’s Executive Member for Council Coordination and Climate, said she was angry and disappointed by the announcement. She characterised the decision as a setback and argued that the country should be moving towards clean, affordable energy.
Waldon-Day linked the council’s position to the recent summer heatwaves and the effects of climate change on residents. Her comments are political criticism attributed to her role at the council. They do not establish that the Jackdaw decision caused any particular local impact.
She also said local action could not compensate for national decisions that, in the council’s view, move policy in the wrong direction. The authority says it will continue work in Southwark on emissions reduction, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and helping residents and businesses make a greener transition.
Local action continues alongside national debate
Southwark declared a climate emergency in 2019. Its current statement places its opposition to Jackdaw within that longer-running local commitment, while also directing a request to the national Government to reconsider its position.
The Government, meanwhile, has said it considers the project compatible with the UK’s legally binding climate commitments and has described domestic gas production as part of its approach to energy security during a transition towards lower-carbon power. Those positions differ from Southwark’s call to redirect investment away from new North Sea extraction.
No new Government response to Southwark’s request is set out in the council statement. The immediate development is the council’s public opposition and its appeal for reconsideration, alongside its renewed call for renewable-energy investment. Jackdaw’s approval status remains governed by the Government and regulator processes, not by this council statement.
