# Bankrupt Britain needs to tap into North Sea oil gold, says Donald Trump

By Tessa Khan — 2026-08-04

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “Trump is peddling a fantasy on North Sea oil and gas. It’s now an ultra-mature basin that has been in decline for years.

“Of course Donald Trump wants us to remain dependent on fossil fuels – and on US gas specifically – but that’s not in the UK’s national interest.

“Renewable energy, which we’re lucky to have in abundance, is the only way to reduce our exposure to energy price shocks and mean we are not at the mercy of bad actors like Putin or the whims of American presidents.

“Trump is cheerleader-in-chief for an industry that has made obscene profits while millions of people here have struggled with unaffordable energy bills. Oil and gas is fuelling the rapid changes we’re seeing to our climate, most recently with the series of record-breaking heatwaves across the UK.

“Andy Burnham should not take advice from a man who thinks climate change is a con job and should instead double down on shifting away from our current fossil fuel dependence as quickly as possible.

“To listen to Trump while wildfires burn across the UK, drought blights swathes of England and the whole of Wales and bills rocket with a ‘Trump Tax’ caused by his Iran war, would be a huge black mark to Burnham’s credibility as a leader that puts ordinary people first.”

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