Donald Trump has all but confirmed reports that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to resign, singling out his government’s ban on new North Sea oil licences as a central cause of his political collapse.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, June 21, Trump wrote that Starmer had “failed badly” on two issues, immigration and energy, demanding the UK “open North Sea oil.”
North Sea Ban Under Fire as Energy Bills Surge
The UK government announced on November 26, 2025 that it would grant no new oil and gas exploration licenses. It became the largest economy to take that step. The move drew immediate criticism, and its political cost has grown sharply since.
The ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran disrupted oil and gas flows across the Middle East and triggered a sharp rise in UK energy prices. Since the outbreak of the conflict, Brent crude surged from around $73 a barrel to nearly $114 — while June gas futures on the Dutch TTF jumped nearly 50%.
Ofgem confirmed a 13% rise in the household energy price cap from July. This lifted the annual dual-fuel bill from £1,641 to £1,862, with gas bills climbing 24% and electricity rising 5%.
Critics have pointed to the North Sea ban as compounding British exposure to that shock. Although analysts from Oxford’s Smith School note that even maximum North Sea extraction would save households only between £16 and £82 per year. This is because any domestic oil is sold at global market prices regardless of origin.
Starmer’s Position Collapses
Trump had previously told reporters that Starmer is “a nice man” but warned he needed to “straighten out immigration” and “start drilling”. Sunday’s post dropped the ambiguity entirely.
Starmer’s political position had weakened significantly following major losses in local elections. Andy Burnham’s decisive win in the Makerfield by-election didn’t help either. There are also around 100 Labour MPs formally requesting his resignation.
UK media reported widely on Sunday that an announcement was expected Monday.
Source: BeInCrypto
