The future of the oil and gas industry is “on the line” in today’s (Thursday) Aberdeen South by-election, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
Ahead of polls opening in the neck-and-neck race between the Scottish Conservatives and the SNP, Douglas Lumsden has said that only a vote for him will guarantee Aberdeen South has a pro-drilling MP at Westminster.
Douglas, who worked in the sector for 25 years before entering politics, says the loss of 1,000 oil and gas jobs every month is “personal to him” and that he will demand an end to the hostile policies of the SNP and Labour governments.
He says he will unashamedly champion the sector at every opportunity if elected as Aberdeen South’s MP, and that it is “economic vandalism” not to be maximising resources in the North Sea.
Lumsden added that, if the SNP win, the decline of the industry will only be accelerated, given John Swinney’s continued refusal to back new projects such as Rosebank and Jackdaw.
Scottish Conservative candidate for Aberdeen South Douglas Lumsden said: “The future of our oil and gas industry is on the line in today’s by-election in Aberdeen South.
“This neck-and-neck race between me and the SNP will determine whether oil and gas workers have an MP who will champion them at every turn, or a nationalist who will only accelerate the North Sea’s decline.
“The hostile policies of both the SNP and Labour, with their refusal to back new drilling, is economic vandalism at a time when we should be maximising the resources we have.
“The future of the sector is personal to me, having worked in the industry for 25 years. It is devastating to see SNP and Labour politicians accept 1,000 jobs being lost every month.
“Ed Miliband won’t grant any new licences and John Swinney still has a presumption against new projects like Rosebank and Jackdaw.
“The only way to save our oil and gas industry is to unite behind me and the Scottish Conservatives in Aberdeen South today. The stakes in this by-election really could not be higher.”