Labour was warned of ‘real and present danger’ to oil and gas sector – Flynn
Labour was warned there was a “real and present danger” its policies on oil and gas could be “catastrophic” for the industry ahead of last year’s general election, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has said.
Mr Flynn, also the MP for Aberdeen South, was speaking after bosses at Harbour Energy blamed “punitive” Government measures for the decision to axe 250 jobs in Scotland.
The job losses come on top of 350 roles that were cut by the firm in 2023.
Mr Flynn said the latest cuts amount to a quarter of the company’s workforce in Aberdeen, where much of the UK oil and gas industry is based.
The MP said he and “many others”, including the Unite trade union, are now “very fearful” the job losses at Harbour Energy may be “the start of something that could be quite devastating for Aberdeen and the north east”.
Mr Flynn told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Harbour is one of many companies that operate out of Aberdeen, one of many huge companies that work out of Aberdeen and there is a real and present danger, it was something that the Labour Party was warned about prior to the election, that the decisions they were seeking to take in relation to policy both for licensing and taxation in relation to the North Sea sector would lead to catastrophic job losses.”
Scott Barr, managing director of Harbour Energy’s UK business, said on Wednesday the job losses were “due mainly to the Government’s ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment”.
Mr Flynn pressed Sir Keir Starmer on the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions this week, and he told the programme on Thursday: “If 250 jobs were being lost elsewhere in the UK, perhaps in Keir Starmer’s constituency, he would be more interested than he appeared to be yesterday when I asked him about it.”
Mr Flynn, who is due to meet senior directors at the firm on Friday, said as well as the increase the Energy Profits Levy – also known as the windfall tax – changes had been made to the licensing regime when Sir Keir’s party came to power.
Labour has been clear on its opposition to new developments in the North Sea, with Mr Flynn saying there has been a “direct impact upon investment decisions”.
The SNP MP said: “Everyone knows the North Sea is a depleting asset but the argument is how quickly you seek to shut down the industry and what we are seeking is a clear pattern of direction from the Labour Government in that regard, which is seeking to accelerate that.”
Speaking during a visit to Scotland on Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the job losses at Harbour Energy were a “commercial decision by the business”.
She stressed “the Energy Profits Levy is being used to properly fund public services”, and she insisted oil and gas will have an “important role” in the UK economy “for years to come”.
Ms Reeves added: “It’s a commercial decision by one company… but there are many other companies that aren’t laying off workers.
“It is important that, with energy companies making record profits after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, that we ask those companies to pay their fair share of tax, especially when ordinary working people saw their energy bills go through the roof.”
