Aberdeen councillors, including Labour members, have unanimously backed a motion agreeing the UK government’s windfall tax policy puts jobs and a just transition at risk.
Members of Aberdeen City Council’s Finance and Resources Committee backed the motion during a meeting on Wednesday.
The motion noted comments from Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) which called proposed changes to the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) “reckless, wrong and economically ruinous“.
It also acknowledged a statement from industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) which said the policy “jeopardises jobs in communities across the UK”.
The committee said it “agrees with industry experts” that the EPL changes “will have an impact on the economy of Aberdeen and the wider north east Scotland economy, and puts 100,000 jobs at risk, as well as risking a just transition”.
Oil and gas ‘incredibly important’ to Aberdeen
SNP councillor and committee convener Alex McLellan said issues surrounding the North Sea oil and gas sector are “incredibly important to our city”.
“Industry experts have explicitly warned of the impact that increasing the headline tax rate to 78% and closing investment allowances will have on the economy of Aberdeen as well as the 100,000 jobs at risk across the sector – the Chancellor must make clear why she is right and industry experts are wrong,” he said.
“Labour promised there would be no cliff edge for workers, but these plans appear to mean exactly that – without retaining the skilled workforce we hold in the North-east, there is no transition to net zero.
“Labour must recognise the contribution our energy sector has made and continues to make to the UK economy and take immediate action – if the UK Government fails to do so then North-east jobs and our net zero future is at severe risk.”
Aberdeen and GB Energy
The council committee also reiterated calls for Aberdeen to become the home of Labour’s publicly-owned GB Energy.
The motion instructed council chief executive Angela Scott to write to UK energy secretary Ed Miliband to reinforce its view that GB Energy should be based in the Granite City.
© Fred Duval/SOPA Images/ShutterstockThe committee also called on council co-leaders, SNP councillor Christian Allard and Liberal Democrat Ian Yuill, to invite Miliband and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Aberdeen to discuss the impact of the windfall tax plans.
The motion was backed by Labour council leader Tauqeer Malik, who last month said Aberdeen business leaders would be to blame if GB Energy went elsewhere.
Labour councillor Simon Watson also backed the motion.
Ex-Labour council leader lashes out at party
It comes after the ex-Labour leader of Aberdeen City Council lashed out at his former party for its oil and gas tax plans.
Independent councillor Barney Crockett said the Labour party has “nothing to offer” when it comes to protecting North Sea oil and gas jobs, and that its message to Aberdeen is “drop dead”.
“There is no plan for the future of Aberdeen,” Crockett said.
“I don’t think any city has ever been treated in this way. Labour have nothing to offer at all.”
The-ex Labour leader quit the party last year in fury over its plan to end North Sea exploration, which he described as like “Thatcher on steroids”.
He pointed to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s commitment to save hundreds of jobs at Grangemouth oil refinery, compared with the north-east where tens of thousands of jobs could be at stake without a plan for transition.
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