Reform UK's Richard Tice calls for more North Sea drilling

Reform UK's deputy leader has said every last drop of oil and gas should be extracted from the North Sea.

Richard Tice told BBC Scotland News the policy should be "drill, Scotland, drill" and called it "our energy treasure".

Tice was speaking ahead of the party's conference this week in Birmingham - although parties usually send their leader on the media circuit.

He argues that the North Sea will provide as an energy source for many decades to come "as long as you've got the right regulatory and taxation framework - that's the critical thing".

He pointed to Norway "drilling over 40 wells" in the North Sea last year.

"But in our part of the North Sea, we're not because of the regulatory framework," Tice said.

"With new technology, there is so much more to be discovered and extracted, and its our energy treasure.

"We should go for every last barrel, every last drop".

The Boston and Skegness MP said after it ran out, there would be "all sorts of different technologies we don't even know about at the moment".

When asked if he wanted to see more renewable jobs in Scotland, he said: "I don't want to drive up bills, and renewable energy is driving up bills to a huge degree."

Tice said the UK should follow the US model by producing and consuming oil and gas domestically.

Asked if the party would do a deal with the SNP on a second independence referendum in a future general election, he said: "We're going to win a majority, we don't need the SNP."

Looking ahead to the local elections next year, Tice said his party was "ambitious" and would "compete everywhere".

However, he refused to say exactly how many seats it was hoping to win. It currently has 23 out of 1,226 local seats across Scotland.

The party won 17 out of 129 available seats in the Scottish Parliament elections in May, making it the joint second largest party in Holyrood alongside Scottish Labour.

He called it a "fantastic result" and said Reform MSPs were "making a real difference in the chamber and the Reform voice is being heard loud and clear".

Tice's call for more drilling in the North Sea is not a surprising position for the party, but what struck me while we spoke is the lack of a plan beyond drilling for oil and gas.

Instead the party has pinned its hopes on future technology saving the day.

The UK government is deciding whether to approve Rosebank and the Jackdaw oil and gas field soon, after they were legally challenged by campaigners.

Environmental group Uplift argued that recent extreme heatwaves and wildfires were evidence that more drilling would "wreck the planet".

But in the ideal world of Reform, approving two sites is a long way from draining every last drop in the North Sea.