A Scottish Conservative MSP has urged Keir Starmer and John Swinney to ‘face up’ to workers affected by the growing oil and gas jobs crisis.
Douglas Lumsden said the pair must directly address industry professionals at the Offshore Europe conference, which will bring more than 30,000 people to Aberdeen next week.
Deputy FM Kate Forbes and Under-Secretary of State for Energy Michael Shanks will be in attendance.
However, Mr Lumsden said that Mr Swinney and Sir Keir must also attend, after a recent analysis by Offshore Energies UK found that 1,000 jobs related to the oil and gas sector could be lost each month until 2030.
The Conservative shadow energy secretary accused the pair of causing “devastation”.
He noted: “At a time when tens of thousands of jobs and our energy security hangs in the balance, there is no excuse for Keir Starmer and John Swinney to be missing Offshore Europe.
“Next week is an opportunity for them to face up to the damage their hostility is causing, by hearing directly from the workers whose livelihoods are at risk from Labour and the SNP’s anti-oil and gas policy decisions.
“The oil and gas sector drives billions into our economy and supports over 80,000 jobs, but both of Scotland’s governments are selling it down the river.
Mr Lumsden added: “Workers should have a voice at the table and deserve to be listened to at such a worrying time for our valuable North Sea industry.
“Starmer and Swinney must explain why they oppose new oil and gas licences and want to rely on costly foreign imports rather than our own oil and gas at home.”
Mr Swinny and Sir Keir previously visited the region last month, as US President Donald Trump welcomed them to his Aberdeenshire golf course.
The UK Government’s ‘windfall tax’ on oil and gas firms was implemented by then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, a Conservative, in May 2022.
Known as the Energy Profits Levy, companies are taxed at a rate of 38%, bringing the overall tax rate on upstream oil and gas activities to 78%.
This has attracted criticism from business interests in the North East. In May, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce held an emergency press conference after 600 jobs in the region were lost in just ten days.
At the time, Chamber chief Russell Borthwick said:
“People in this region are not resisting change – they are delivering it. But this must be a transition, not a cliff edge. If we continue down this path, the social cost will be felt for years to come.”
However, proponents of the policy argue it keeps energy bills down for working class families across Scotland.
Two months ago, Tory boss Kemi Badenoch told party members in Edinburgh that the levy should be scrapped.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie responded, noting: “While the Tories and SNP let energy workers down by failing to plan for the future, Scottish Labour is committed to taking action towards reaching net zero, creating jobs and cutting energy bills.”
In March, government ministers announced that the windfall tax would be scrapped in 2030, and a new regime would be implemented in its place.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The North Sea will be at the heart of Britain’s energy future. For decades, its workers, businesses and communities have helped power our country and our world.
“Oil and gas production will continue to play an important role and, as the world embraces the drive to clean energy, the North Sea can power our plan for change and clean energy future in the decades ahead.”
Great British Energy, an energy investment firm to be headquartered in Aberdeen, was a major talking point during Labour’s surge at the last general election.
However, its development has been slow, and the government has been accused of rowing back on key aspects of the plan.
This has led to further discontent amongst oil and gas workers.
Meanwhile, the SNP appeared to moderate their position ahead of the general election, after Ms Forbes said the party would consider new licenses for North Sea oil and gas firms on a ‘case by case’ basis.
That contrasts with Labour’s view, which aimed to prevent any new licences from being issued.
13 months later, the government has chosen to invest resources into carbon capture facilities and renewable energy projects.
Speaking on the windfall tax earlier this month, while on a visit to Scotland, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said:
“At a time when energy companies are making huge profits, it is right we ask them to pay a bit more and put that money into our public services, such as the NHS.”
“And parties like the SNP and Conservatives who oppose it, they need to say where they would get the money from. Would they increase the tax on ordinary working people? That wouldn’t be my priority. That’s why we’ve asked energy companies to pay more.”
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