Aberdeen South MP Stephen Flynn said the windfall tax on UK oil and gas had been the “right thing to do” but proposals to increase the burden would stymie investment threatening jobs now and in the future.
Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, was speaking to Energy Voice at a breakfast event in Aberdeen where he was a keynote speaker.
The Invest ABZ event and workshop featured speakers and panellists including Flynn.
© Supplied by Kenny Elrick/ DCT MeThe windfall tax imposed by the UK government had been “the right thing to do” in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
But current – and proposed – tax increases and extensions would “tip the balance” preventing industry investment. This could risk hundreds of thousands of job losses, he said.
Jobs today and tomorrow at risk
He said: “I don’t think anyone would shy away from the fact that a windfall tax was the right thing to do following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the skyrocketing we have seen in relation to energy prices.
“But what has been proposed, either from the UK government with the extension of the windfall tax or the Labour party’s proposal in relation to enhancing the windfall tax and removing incentive allowances, is it tips the balance into a position where it is no longer preferential for industry to seek to have investment into new projects.
“If you don’t have that investment into new projects, that means you don’t have the jobs of today which will also be the jobs of tomorrow in the net zero industries.
“The consequences could be huge. It has been spelled out by the industry itself in relation to up to 100,000 jobs that could be on the line.
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“It is my job to make sure those in Westminster – to people who make those decisions, be it in the Conservative party at the moment or potentially a future Labour government – understand the consequences of those actions, that we speak up for Aberdeen and we speak up for Scotland in this regard.
“Because this is crucial to our journey, not just to net zero, but to our wider economic future.”
Scotland’s new government is “serious”
Speaking about the recent change of leadership in the Scottish Government and its potential impact on the north-east, he added the new First Minister John Swinney was a “serious politician for serious times”.
Swinney became Scotland’s first minister in the same week Flynn spoke at the Energy Voice event.
The new first minister replaced Humza Yousaf. His leadership collapsed after he ended the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Green Party. This was an alliance forged to support the SNP’s minority government.
Flynn said Swinney’s new cabinet brought “all the talents of the SNP” back to the top table.
© Supplied by PAThe Scottish cabinet now includes MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Kate Forbes as deputy First Minister. Former business minister Ivan McKee returned as minister for public finance. Mairi McAllan remains as energy and net zero secretary.
In addition to the aim of eradicating poverty, the new team is focused on growing the economy – and the energy industry should be core to this, Flynn said.
“The energy sector has to be at the very heart of that because it is the beating heart of Scotland’s economy,” he said.
“What we need to make sure we do is have a managed energy transition, a just transition… which enables us to protect the industry we have, to protect the jobs we have, because those jobs and those people are going to be the ones who deliver on that journey to net zero.”
Future is bright
He said: “We need to talk positively about the opportunities that exist.
“The future for Aberdeen can be very bright.
“There can be tens of thousands of jobs, huge investment into those net zero technologies.
“We need to get on and grasp those opportunities.
“That is my job and the job of my colleagues in London, hopefully we can get on and do that, in the run up to a general election and post the general election.”
Stay tuned for the full report on the Energy Voice | Invest Abz event on Energy Voice.
