Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to abandon what she describes as deference to "Net Zero zealots" such as Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, urging him instead to support new North Sea oil and gas drilling. The intervention reflects the Conservatives' continuing push to position themselves against Labour's net zero policies, framing the issue as one of energy security and jobs rather than purely environmental strategy, particularly in regions with links to the oil and gas industry.

The article centres on Badenoch's criticism of Burnham, whom she accuses of aligning too closely with Miliband's climate agenda at the expense of North Sea energy production and the jobs that depend on it. She frames her call as a challenge to Labour figures to break from what she characterises as an overly zealous approach to net zero targets, though the piece does not detail a specific response from Burnham or Miliband at the time of publication.