Tony Blair’s critical essay of Keir Starmer’s government included the view that Labour should rip up its green energy targets and seek to extract all oil and gas from the North Sea, rather than pursue its current ban on new developments. Latest reports suggest some cabinet ministers agree with Blair.

And they’re not alone. Nearly half of Britons (46%) believe that new oil and gas developments in the North Sea should be opened, compared to 23% who think only existing developments should be allowed to continue operating.

An additional 10% believe the government should go further in its restrictions and begin closing down existing oil and gas developments.

Labour voters themselves are more divided, with 35% favouring Blair’s path and 33% preferring the government’s approach, alongside 13% who would like to see the oil fields closed down. By contrast, Conservative and Reform UK voters are far more one-sided, with 71-78% supporting new developments.

Beyond the sections on energy policy, Blair’s essay has dominated headlines all week, with Keir Starmer and potential alternative leaders all issuing ripostes to the former prime minister’s claims.

Nonetheless, the public are far from the view Blair would do a better job, with just 19% believing he would be a better prime minister than Starmer, roughly the same as the 17% who think Starmer is doing a better job than Blair could do today. A greater 44%, though, believe neither are capable of being good PMs in today’s world.

Labour voters are more likely to think Starmer is a better PM than Blair would be (31% vs 19%), though with 29% believing neither would be good PMs today, a figure that rises to 37% of Lib Dems, 52% of Green voters, 58% of Conservatives and fully 73% of Reform UK voters.

A Welsh couple have netted £16,000 at auction after selling two cat paintings by celebrated artist Louis Wain that they happened to find in a skip.

Although skip diving is a legal grey area, 35% of Britons say they have picked up and kept an item they found either on the street or in a skip.

Men are more likely than women (40% vs 31%) to have picked up and kept an item they found on the street, with the practice also more common in London (where 43% have done it) and among Green voters (57%).

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