UK Debt Tops £3tn as Burnham Tackles Energy Costs, North Sea Gas Approved and Musk Eyes Tesla-SpaceX Merger

Oct 22 – Britain's total government debt surpassed £3 trillion for the first time on Wednesday as inflation climbed to its highest level in nearly a year, driven by rising motor fuel costs, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham moved to address household energy bills and approved a controversial North Sea gasfield, according to reporting by The Guardian and BBC News.

UK inflation rose in September, pushed higher by increased petrol and diesel prices, the BBC reported. The simultaneous breach of the £3 trillion debt threshold underscored the fiscal pressures facing the Burnham government as it attempts to balance energy security with cost-of-living concerns. French government bond yields also reached their highest level since 2002, The Guardian reported, as France was rocked by protests, adding to a broader picture of economic strain across Europe.

On energy policy, Burnham proposed a plan to cut standing charges from household gas bills, though the BBC noted the prime minister provided little detail and that questions remain over whether the fees would simply be shifted onto unit costs instead. Separately, Burnham instructed officials to abandon existing plans for Thames Water and present more radical options for the stricken utility company, The Guardian reported. Options under consideration include alternatives that go beyond the approaches previously outlined by government advisers.

The UK government also approved the Jackdaw gasfield in the North Sea, a decision The Guardian described as widely expected following lobbying by Shell but one that will dismay environmental campaigners and a number of Labour MPs. Shell, which jointly owns Jackdaw operator Adura alongside Norway's Equinor, called the approval an important step for UK energy security. The Guardian noted that while Labour's 2024 election manifesto committed to banning new North Sea drilling licences, the companies behind Jackdaw and the separate Rosebank oilfield project sought environmental approval under existing licences rather than new ones.

In corporate news, Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk confirmed he is considering merging the two companies, the BBC reported. Musk said special committees within both firms have been formed to examine a possible merger, a combination that would unite the electric vehicle manufacturer with the private space exploration company in what would rank among the largest corporate consolidations in recent memory.

In Nigeria, a two-decade dispute between the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Bi-Courtney Aviation Services over Lagos airport's domestic terminal, known as MMA2, came to an end, Premium Times reported. FAAN has begun collecting revenue from the terminal following a settlement in which both sides relinquished historical claims and accepted revised operational terms, bringing to a close years of litigation that had complicated management of one of West Africa's busiest airports.