PM says Bureaucracy is holding back Jackdaw and Rosebank

Afternoon all,

Andy Burnham has complained that approval for oil and gas drilling at the Jackdaw and Rosebank sites is being held up by “government process”. The PM, who is of course in charge of the government, has pledged to take a “pragmatic approach” energy extraction in the North Sea. Ultimately, it’s up to his energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh to give the red light (or not).

Meanwhile, Wall Street banks have had another bumper quarter, with the top six US banks making hay from the War in Iran, swinging AI stocks, and other instability. Collectively, they’ve taken in $22bn in revenue, led by $6.4bn for Goldman Sachs - whose boss David Solomon said “it’s hard to call the peak”.

We’ll be back in your inboxes at 8am tomorrow. In the meantime, have a great Wednesday evening!

Matt

Consultations on drilling at either site ended in August, with Miatta Fahnbulleh having to balance the growth effects against environmental commitments in her decision. 

Both the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen had been approved by the former Conservative government. Labour campaigned on a manifesto in 2024 that said it would not issue new licences for oil and gas drilling. 

Goldman led the pack with 72 per cent annual growth to $6.4bn, while Morgan Stanley secured the second place spot with $5.8bn after a 41 per cent jump.

Trading desks benefited from a surge in prime brokerage and portfolio refinancing, as hedge funds borrowed more cash to make bigger bets across different sectors and stock markets.

Usdaw, the union representing shop workers, said earlier this week that it has “deep concerns” about US investment firm Gordon Brothers’s sale of the business. 

Bally Auluk, Usdaw’s national officer, claimed Poundland’s owner had refused to meet with the union, adding that the company is on the verge of falling into administration, putting 12,000 jobs at risk.

Affordability should not be included in the scorecard that the government sets third runway developers, Heathrow’s operations chief has told MPs, rejecting industry concerns that costs could spiral after ministers rubber stamp a design.

Helen Elsby, the chief solutions officer at Heathrow Airport Limited, said the project’s frontrunner was “absolutely aligned with the criticality of affordability”, but that it should not form part of the current planning process.

From the revival of the Citroën 2CV to bold pushes by Geely, BYD and Omoda, this year’s Paris Motor Show revealed how nostalgia, electrification and Chinese ambition are reshaping the global car market.

The former Mayor of Manchester was forced to address accusations that he had fudged the truth after reports this week suggested meetings with senior Manchester City figures, notably chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, which appeared in his register of interests had been removed from the internet.

This weekend in Cornwall, celebrating David Cameron’s 60th birthday, politics was refreshingly off the menu. This was all about family and old friends, cold water plunges, wind-blown hikes to shed hangovers and a lot of eating. Only once did talk briefly slip onto Westminster’s current obsession: will Andy Burnham hold a snap election.

Should Andy Burnham call a snap election? Emily Sheffield reports from the political tittle tattle field of David Cameron’s 60th party in today’s Notebook.

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