By 'Tofe Ayeni | Updated on Jun 14, 2026 at 11:38 AM
UK leadership challenger Wes Streeting will outline plans to recruit 20,000 scientists, engineers and artificial intelligence specialists to the UK and channel future North Sea energy tax revenues into household decarbonization projects, as the Labour member plans to set out an economic growth strategy next week.
Streeting will propose a £250 million ($334 million) global talent program, aimed at attracting researchers, founders and technical experts, according to an emailed statement. The initiative would seek to capitalize on growing concerns among some scientists about the research environment in the US under President Donald Trump, as many federal research grants have been frozen or cut.
The program would work with universities, businesses, professional bodies and other research institutions to identify talent in sectors deemed critical to Britain’s economic growth and national security. It would also provide support for relocating to the UK and connecting recruits with investors, employers and research organizations.
The Labour government is broadly seeking to reduce overall migration levels while maintaining access to highly skilled workers.
“We should open our door to the best and the brightest,” Streeting, who’s planning to lay out the strategy in a speech next week, said in the statement. “Voters who want lower levels of migration aren’t opposed to inviting tomorrow’s Nobel Prize winners to make their discoveries here in Britain.”
Streeting is also set to argue that future tax revenues generated by newly approved North Sea oil and gas developments should be earmarked for projects designed to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.
The government is currently considering whether to approve production at the Jackdaw gas field and the Rosebank oil and gas project, two developments that have become focal points in the debate over Britain’s energy transition. Lower output and weaker commodity prices reduced Treasury revenues by an estimated £1.6 billion in the 2024 through 2025 fiscal year.
Under the proposal from Streeting, who has backed new North Sea drilling for oil and gas, additional tax from new projects would be directed toward home insulation, heat pumps, battery storage and electrification initiatives. Supporters argue such investments could help lower energy costs for households and businesses while advancing climate goals.
Read more: Streeting Favors National Insurance Cut, More North Sea Drilling
“Businesses and households are held back by high energy costs,” Streeting said. “The tax receipts from new North Sea oil and gas fields should be funneled into cheaper energy: insulation, heat pumps and electrification to cut bills and emissions.”