“There is a resource there — when people are struggling, we can’t ignore that. Hence, me indicating that to the president,” he added.
Labour said it would not issue new oil and gas drilling licenses in its 2024 manifesto, though indicated it would honor existing ones.
But the U.K. government is now under pressure from political opponents in the Conservative and Reform UK parties to reverse that policy amid rising energy costs.
Trump repeatedly raised the future of the North Sea with Keir Starmer, urging the former prime minister to U-turn.
Answering questions in the Oval OfficeWednesday, Trump said Burnham had told him he was going to “open up the North Sea” in their first call.
“If you use the North Sea, the U.K. will be a really rich country. I cannot get the point across. The new gentleman, when I spoke to him, said he’s going to open up the North Sea,” Trump said.
