At first sight it might seem like the triumph of reason over ideology. The Times is reporting that Ed Miliband has given way and is poised to announce that he will, after all, grant a licence for extraction from the Jackdaw gas field 250 miles east of Aberdeen. It has been a long time coming.

For weeks, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has been holding out, insisting that more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea won’t make any difference to Britain’s energy security or energy prices. Meanwhile, even RenewableUK, the trade body for wind and solar, has been backing more drilling. On Wednesday, Rachel Reeves made it quite clear that she was in favour of approving new licences for the North Sea.

The final straw for Keir Starmer may well have been the change of heart by the SNP, whose leader John Swinney yesterday announced its support for developing the Jackdaw field. In a few weeks’ time, Labour looks like it will suffer a hefty reversal in the Scottish parliament and local elections. The last thing Labour will have wanted is to be seen as the party promising to........

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