We're Not Turning Off the Taps, Labour Leader Says

During an event in Scotland, Labour leader Keir Starmer told attendees that his party is not turning off the oil and gas taps.

“I’ve been very, very clear when it comes to the transition, that we’re not turning off the taps,” Starmer said at the conference, which was streamed by the Scottish Labour Party.

“Oil and gas will be part of the mix for many years, we’re not revoking any licenses, but a transition is coming,” he added.

“Everybody knows the transition is coming. Everybody’s working towards that transition, the investment is already beginning in that transition. Thought is being given about … carbon capture and how the same skills and pipelines could be used,” Starmer continued.

While standing next to Starmer at the event, Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour and MSP for Glasgow, added, “there will be no turning off the tap”.

“There will be no cliff edge. Oil and gas will play a significant role for decades to come, partly because it’s the right thing for us to do, we have to protect jobs, but also if we are to get the scale of investment that’s required, we need the oil and gas giants to be part of that investment as we push them towards that renewable future,” Sarwar said.

Earlier in the conference, Sarwar stated that Labour is committed to setting up Great British Energy, “a publicly owned energy generation company headquartered right here in Scotland to cut bills for good and so we finally realize Scotland’s energy potential”.

“That’s billions of investment for Scotland, more jobs for Scotland, lower bills for Scotland, and greater energy security for Scotland. That’s 53,000 new clean energy jobs here in Scotland,” he added.

Setting up Great British Energy is one of Labour’s “first steps for change”, the party’s website highlights.

“Labour will set up Great British Energy, a publicly owned clean power company, to cut bills for good and boost energy security, paid for by a windfall tax on oil and gas giants,” the site notes.

“Headquartered in Scotland, Great British Energy will ensure jobs and supply chains are built here in the UK, developing our clean energy industries,” it adds.

In a statement sent to Rigzone by industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), OEUK CEO David Whitehouse said, “it was good to hear again from Labour that if they win this general election, they won’t turn off the taps and revoke oil and gas licenses and they recognize the need for oil and gas in the UK for many decades to come”.

"We now need to understand how they plan to work with the sector they say they need, to safeguard oil and gas jobs and build a sustainable and secure energy future that leaves no one behind,” he added.

“We share the ambition to make the UK a green energy superpower. A successful path can only be one that recognizes that in the journey to net zero we need both renewables and our homegrown oil and gas sector,” he continued.

"You cannot protect jobs and communities, safeguard our energy security, create enduring economic value, and deliver on our climate goals without embracing our existing industrial strengths,” Whitehouse went on to note.

In the statement, Whitehouse said Great British Energy’s ambition cannot be delivered without the UK’s oil and gas sector.

“OEUK will work with all parties during the election and in government to champion this message and develop the detail businesses need to have confidence to invest here in the UK,” he added.

Whitehouse is described on OEUK’s website as an established industry leader with 30 years of experience.

“He is respected across the sector for his strategic and hands-on leadership in the North Sea and around the world, including the USA, Netherlands, and Philippines,” the site states.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com