President Donald Trump urged Keir Starmer to extract more oil from the North Sea and criticized U.K. taxes on fossil fuels in his latest attack on the prime minister’s policies during a five-day visit to Scotland.
As the U.K. shifts to greener energy such as renewables and nuclear, and away from fossil fuels, Starmer’s Labour government has said it won’t issue new licenses for North Sea oil and gas extraction, though it will honor existing ones. Last year, Labour upped a windfall tax on oil and gas producers to 38% from 35%, bringing total taxation of the industry to 78%.
“North Sea Oil is a TREASURE CHEST for the United Kingdom. The taxes are so high, however, that it makes no sense,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. “They have essentially told drillers and oil companies that, ‘we don’t want you.’ Incentivize the drillers, FAST. A VAST FORTUNE TO BE MADE for the UK, and far lower energy costs for the people!”
There are at least 12 billion barrels of oil-equivalent hydrocarbon resources in the aging North Sea basin, according to Offshore Energies UK. Right now, producers have plans for 4 billion barrels of oil and gas equivalent in various states of readiness, the industry lobby group said in its March business outlook report. Another 2 billion to 3 billion barrels could be made available by 2050 if the right policies were in place, it added.
While Starmer and Trump have sought to emphasize the positive working relationship they enjoy, their differences were sometimes awkwardly on display during Trump’s trip to Scotland. The two men held a marathon press event at the president’s Turnberry golf resort on Monday, in which Trump suggested Starmer needed to lower taxes, cut immigration and stop crime in the U.K. if he wants to beat populist Nigel Farage at the next general election.
Trump also excoriated London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Starmer’s fellow Labour Party member, and railed against wind turbines, describing them as “very expensive and ugly energy,” leading to a defense of U.K. energy policy from Starmer, who said “we believe in a mix, and obviously oil and gas are going to be with us for a very long time.”
