Achi news desk-
Despite Labor leader Keir Starmer’s pre-election manifesto assurances about the future of energy, he has failed to withdraw a ban on new fossil fuel project licenses in the North Sea.
There is concern that Labour’s vision for the transition from oil and gas in the North Sea comes despite fears of major job losses by 2030, a key concern of the Unite union.
The general secretary of Unite, Sharon Graham, had recently told members following Mr Starmer’s comments about Labour’s energy strategy in Scotland: “Now we need to see that plan.”
READ MORE: Union warns £6.6bn needed now to save 30,000 Scottish oil and gas jobs
A senior Unite source said one of Ms Graham’s red lines about the manifesto was the need to ban new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.
The source said: “He told union members he was breaking the deal after refusing to endorse Labour’s manifesto.”
Unite sources said before the manifesto was published that Labour’s plan to transition from oil and gas was “weak” and that its rebellious ‘No Ban Without a Plan’ campaign in Scotland meant diverting money expected to be used. The election of a Labor government would continue and be upgraded.
Labour’s manifesto says “we can make Britain a clean energy power” saying it will work with the private sector to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind by 2030.
Regarding oil and gas he says: “Labour will maintain a strategic fund of gas power stations to guarantee security of supply. We will ensure a gradual and responsible transition in the North Sea that recognizes the proud history of our offshore industry and the brilliance of its workforce , particularly in Scotland and North East England, and the continued role of oil and gas in our energy mix.
“We welcome a future of energy generation and storage that will make use of existing offshore infrastructure and the skills of our offshore workforce.
“Labour will not revoke existing licenses and we will work in partnership with businesses and workers to manage our existing fields throughout their lifetime. Crucially, oil and gas production in the North Sea will be with us for decades to come, and the North is managed in a way that does not endanger jobs And our offshore workers will lead the world in the industries of the future.
“We will not issue new licenses to explore new areas because they will not take a penny off our bills, they cannot make us energy secure, and we will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis. In addition, we will not issue new coal licenses and we will ban fracking for good.”
The party and the trade union movement are inherently linked historically.
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In 1899, a decision by the Congress of Trade Unions started a chain of events that led to the establishment of the Labor Representation Committee in 1900 and the party soon after.
But Electoral Commission data seen by the Herald shows the level of reliance on unions for donations has fallen from two pounds in three a year before Labor’s 2005 General Election victory to less than one in five before that to come
The Unite campaign demanded that over £6.6bn must be committed over the next six years in order to save over 30,000 Scottish oil and gas jobs by the end of the decade.
Labour’s biggest union supporter has been targeting six key Scottish election constituencies heavily dependent on oil which Labor hoped to capture in an upcoming general election, calling on the party to reconsider its current policy of banning licences. new oil drilling.
The campaign included putting up billboards, paid advertising displays, and canvassing residents.
Ms Graham warned through the Herald that the nation’s oil and gas workers are going to be the “coal miners of our generation” through job losses.
He urged Labor to become the “heroes of the hour” by committing to the union’s radical investment plan which would save 30,000 jobs and create 6,000 more by the end of the decade while scrapping the proposed ban on ‘no oil and gas projects’ ‘.
Around three quarters of the country’s 187,000 miners went on strike in 1984 and 1985 to oppose mine closures, with this expected to mean the loss of 20,000 jobs.
The union says the “efforts” by Labor to reassure North Sea workers have come after intense pressure from the media.
Mr Starmer said the party’s green energy plans will ensure the UK’s transition away from oil and gas does not repeat the mistakes of coal phase-out.
Labor also wants to establish a new public company, called Great British Energy, for its headquarters in Scotland, and it has been a feature of campaigning in Scotland.
Labor wants to give the Scottish energy company £8.3bn over the next five years for investments, funded by a random tax on the profits of oil and gas companies.
The government already has such a tax, recently extended until 2029, but Labor would raise a higher rate and close some tax allowances for investment.
But it has been confirmed that Mr Starmer’s vision has not been enough for Unite, which continues its campaign to save Scottish jobs across Scotland.
In the year before this election (2023), the Labor party pulled in £29.684m in donations, of which £5.535m (18%) came from unions.
In 2018, the year before the 2019 general election in 2019, the Labor Party brought in £17.282m in donations of which £6.572m (38%) came from trade unions.
And in 2014, the year before the 2015 general election, around £7.998m (39%) out of £20.502m Labor donations came from trade unions.
In 2004, the year before Labour’s last election victory under the leadership of Tony Blair, more than two out of three pounds were donated by unions. The party brought in £14.776m of which £9.94m came from trade unions.
Labor has promised to work with the SNP government to introduce the long-awaited ‘skills passport’ for oil and gas workers as part of a bid to help protect North Sea jobs.
The Herald has previously revealed that the oil and gas industry in Scotland has lost almost 40% of its jobs, a total of 50,000 in Scotland over a decade, according to industry figures – while the number of gains from low carbon initiatives rose by 2,500 alone.
Unite’s billboard campaign hit Glasgow.
Data compiled by the trade association, Offshore Energies UK working with international data analytics and consumer credit analysis Experian found that the number of jobs directly and indirectly employed in oil and gas in Scotland has fallen by almost 40% since 2013 from 117,900 to just 74,100 in 2022. That includes 31,000 directly employed and 43,000 indirectly.
Unite gave Labor £3.5m in the run-up to the 2019 general election, making it by far the biggest single contributor to the party’s campaign. At the moment, he has £29m in his political fund.
Uplift – an organization campaigning for a fair transition away from oil and gas – said Labor’s commitment to ending oil and gas licensing was “very encouraging”.
Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “New licenses will do nothing to lower energy bills, boost energy supply or secure jobs, which have halved in the last decade as the basin has declined, even though hundreds of licenses have been published during this period. . Between now and 2050, new permits are expected to provide just four days’ worth of additional gas on average.
“The oil and gas companies will complain, but now is the time for them to follow through on their promises and transition to clean energy. The world already has more than enough oil and gas to push us past safe climate limits and the effects we are seeing today – from flooded British farms to high temperatures around the world – will only get worse.
“Meanwhile, the benefits to the UK from transitioning to home renewable energy are huge, whether that’s creating more jobs, growing the economy or lowering household bills. Ending new licensing is a clear signal to the industry and investors that the UK is ready to seize these opportunities.
“It is encouraging to see recognition of the urgent need to support the offshore workforce and communities currently dependent on oil and gas and we look forward to seeing more details.”
