The UK Conservative Party will today (Wednesday) renew its call for the Labour Government to ditch both the Energy Profits Levy and its “insane” ban on new oil and gas licences, to save Scottish jobs and cut household bills.
The party will use its opposition debate at Westminster to demand support for the troubled sector in Rachel Reeves’ budget later this month.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wants to remove the Carbon Tax from electricity generation and end renewable obligation subsidies to slash average bills by around 20 per cent – and her party will force a vote on the matter.
The Scottish Conservatives have launched a campaign to save the oil and gas industry as reports show that Labour and the SNP’s hostility is leading to an estimated 400 job losses every fortnight.
Shadow energy minister and shadow secretary of state for Scotland Andrew Bowie MP said: “Scotland’s oil and gas sector stands on a precipice, and the Labour and SNP governments seem intent on pushing it over.
“Their war on North Sea oil and gas has to stop now, or tens of thousands of Scottish jobs will be destroyed, and the nation’s energy security will be at risk.
“Rachel Reeves must listen to industry voices and drop the Energy Profits Levy and the Carbon Tax on electricity generation in her budget to cut bills.
“Keir Starmer needs to show some backbone by putting Ed Miliband back in his box and ending Labour’s insane ban on new oil and gas developments.
“It’s utter madness to block North Sea drilling, when it makes us more reliant on imports – including from Norway, which is drilling from the same basin that Scotland’s governments want to ignore.
“The Conservatives recognise that we need a mix of oil and gas, nuclear and renewables to meet our energy needs, yet the SNP irrationally oppose two of those three sources.”
Notes to editors
The Scottish Conservatives’ campaign to end the ban on oil and gas developments can be seen here link.
A recent report from Robert Gordon University estimated that 400 jobs per fortnight could be lost over the next five years unless action is taken to help the sector link.