Reeves backs further North Sea drilling to boost Britain’s oil and gas supply

NewsUKUK PoliticsReeves backs further North Sea drilling to boost Britain’s oil and gas supplyChancellor says government working with energy companies to open up tie-back sites in the North SeaJane Dalton & Athena StavrouFriday 17 April 2026 09:31 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"CF1:2959396To1","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rachel-reeves-chancellor-increase-taxes-defence-spending-b2959637.html","title":"Reeves backs further North Sea drilling to boost Britain’s oil and gas supply"}}CloseStarmer rejects Lord Robertson claim government 'complacent' on defenceStay on top of the latest political news with our View from Westminster newsletterGet the latest political headlines with our free emailGet the latest political headlines with our free emailEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_VIEW_WESTMINSTER_cdp","regTitle":"View from Westminster","subscriptionGroup":"view_from_westminster","subscriptionGroupId":"b95d438b-1c8a-4bcc-b662-ba3e12f2afc5","type":"the_view_westminster","pathPrefix":"/news/uk/politics","associatedAuthors":["Kate Devlin","Millie Cooke","Athena Stavrou"],"title":"Stay on top of the latest political news with our View from Westminster newsletter","mobileTitle":"Get the latest political headlines with our free email","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/viewFromWestminster1_1_new.png","label":"I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email","newsletterKey":"receiveTheView","regSourceSection":"UK Politics","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClima...