LONDON — North Sea oil and gas fields used to be a cash cow for the U.K. But now the government is gearing up for a future without drilling.
Labour swept into power at the general election with pledges to shift away from fossil fuels to greener, cleaner energy.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Energy Secretary Ed Miliband have ruled out giving oil and gas firms new licenses to drill off the Scottish coast. The Treasury is about to hike taxes on those companies, too — and use the funds to build more solar farms and towering wind turbines instead.
And last week Labour walked away from defending a legal challenge against drilling in one North Sea oil field, throwing that project into doubt after it had been greenlit by the previous, Conservative, government.
