Prime Minister Andy Burnham has postponed a decision on approving drilling at the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea until after next month's Holborn and St Pancras by-election, the Daily Mail reported on 11 September 2026.
The delay means ministers will not sign off on the project before voters choose a successor to Sir Keir Starmer, who has vacated the seat. Zack Polanski, leader of the Green Party, is standing in the contest.
Jackdaw is a North Sea gas field operated by Shell that was granted development approval in 2022 amid opposition from environmental campaigners, who argued that new fossil fuel extraction was incompatible with the UK's climate targets. Supporters of the project say it could boost Britain's domestic gas supply and support jobs in the energy sector.
Mr Burnham, the former mayor of Greater Manchester, became prime minister roughly seven weeks ago. In an editorial, the Daily Mail accused him of letting the Green Party dictate his actions, arguing that he feared a backlash from environmental campaigners could help Mr Polanski win the by-election.
The paper said postponing the Jackdaw announcement would have real consequences for job creation and Britain's energy security, and questioned whether the prime minister was, in its words, "effectively letting us be governed by proxy by the Greens." It said the decision reflected contempt for the people who pay Mr Burnham's wages and poor leadership on his part.
The paper also argued that just as voters never chose Mr Burnham to lead the country, they never chose Mr Polanski to wield such influence over government policy either.
The Mail linked the delay to the government's recent decision to impose sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which it said was largely designed to win favour with pro-Gaza campaigners in the environmental lobby. Mr Polanski took over as Green Party leader in 2025 and has positioned the party as a vocal critic of both fossil fuel expansion and government policy on Gaza.
Assisted Dying Bill Rejected by MPs
Separately, a bill that would have changed the law on assisted dying was rejected in the House of Commons on 10 September 2026, in a vote the Daily Mail described as narrow.
The paper said the bill had multiple shortcomings, including a failure to provide adequate protection for elderly people, disabled people and other vulnerable groups. It said everyone directly affected by the assisted dying debate deserved a sympathetic hearing, but that this particular bill had been deeply flawed.
It added that it was relieved the legislation had been defeated but warned that the fact it came within a whisker of passing, and the narrow margin of the vote, reflected badly on MPs and on the Labour government.
Assisted dying has been debated at Westminster in recent years, with legislation to legalise the practice for terminally ill adults in England and Wales working its way through Parliament since 2024.
Fatal Stabbing Raises Questions Over Asylum System
The Mail also highlighted the case of Rasheed Rahman, a 21-year-old Sudanese national who arrived in Britain concealed in the back of a lorry and later stabbed a grandfather to death in what was described as a random attack.
Rahman had been bailed by police two days before the killing, after punching and kicking passers-by on a canal towpath. He had been involved in several previous violent incidents and had previously made a successful asylum application. He was given the knife used in the fatal attack by staff at his accommodation support service, according to the Mail.
The paper said the case raised a catalogue of questions that needed answers, chief among them what Mr Burnham intended to do about the migrant crisis.
