The north-east will not be left behind in the transition to clean energy, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.
In a sit-down interview with this paper, Mr Sarwar said Labour was looking to expand its vote share in a region not historically supportive of his party.
He said the energy sector would be one of the “levers” of economic growth a UK Labour government would manoeuvre.
Mr Sarwar insisted party boss Sir Keir Starmer could be trusted by the oil and gas industry despite his party’s latest U-turn on green investment.
The SNP and the Scottish Greens have made Scotland an “unattractive place” to invest and do business, Mr Sarwar claimed, with the country’s industrial potential being used as a “cultural dividing line”.
A UK Labour government would “shut down” Scotland’s oil and gas industry “immediately”, the Tories claimed.
And Scottish business is continuing to “pay the price” of the “Brexit shambles” according to the SNP.
Stable growth for north-east
Asked if the UK Labour party understood how important a “just transition” is for the north-east, Mr Sarwar said Scotland would be a “global leader” in clean energy.
“I think it is obvious that Keir Starmer views the just transition as a key part of developing a growth plan for the UK,” he said.
“It is why our number one mission is to have sustained growth in the UK.
“A central part of that is clean energy by 2030, that is why the National Wealth Fund, GB Energy, local development plans — all of which are huge commitments to make sure we are working towards that future.
“I honestly believe Scotland is going to be the global leader on this.
“A key part of making sure we are, is electing a UK Labour government that uses the strength of the UK treasury to help make those investments and this transition a reality.”
A lack of a Scottish-based supply chain and an unstable UK Conservative government has prevented the energy sector from achieving its potential, he added.
“I have absolute confidence in Scottish workers, Scottish industry and Scottish business.
“We can build the supply chain and make those businesses and jobs a reality.
“People look at what has happened at Fergusons, they look at government intervention and they have a view it leads to failure, rather than maximising an opportunity.
“I would argue it is a good illustration why we need change, why we need a UK government that is going to create stability and confidence in the wider UK economy.
“A government working in partnership to maximise these opportunities rather than the quite embarrassing situation where a global leader in shipbuilding is now looked at as somewhere that can’t even build its own ferries properly.
“That is a complete abdication of the historic role Scotland has had in that industry by the current SNP government.”
‘Back on the front foot’
Mr Sarwar said the North East would not become a foot-hold for the Conservatives at the next election.
This is despite some polls suggesting the Tories could keep a number of seats in Scotland, in particular the north-east, despite a potential vote-collapse elsewhere.
“I want us to increase our share of the vote in the North East. I want to be competing in every part of the country. Not just for 2024, but also in 2026 because we need to make very significant gains in Scotland if we are to elect a Labour government (in Holyrood).
He added: “We are going from our worst result in living memory – perhaps our worst result ever in terms of how far we fell back.
“I believe Scotland will lead the way in electing Labour MPs which allows us to have a majority Labour government.
“Of course I want us to elect Scottish Labour MPs in order for us to get rid of the Tories — that’s important, of course it is.
“I want to elect Scottish Labour MPs because I want to be the Scottish Labour Party back on the front foot, looking to play its part. Not being viewed as a drag on the ticket in terms of a blockage to a UK Labour government.
“But I also want us to elect Scottish Labour MPs to maximise Scotland’s influence.
“We have a choice, come the election, on whether we elect MPs in Scotland whose job it is to send a message or ‘protest’ at Westminster, or MPs from Scotland whose job it is to sit around the table and make decisions in government which benefit the people of Scotland. ”
Brexit shambles
SNP MSP Rona Mackay said Labour still offered no “route” away from the “mayhem” of Brexit.
“Businesses across Scotland are being forced to pay the price for Westminster economic incompetence and the ongoing shambles of Brexit, which Labour’s own report shows has cost the UK economy almost £140 billion — yet neither the Tories nor Keir Starmer’s Labour Party offer a route out of this mayhem.
“With the limited powers at our disposal, the SNP is taking action where it can to create a competitive, fairer and more sustainable economy in Scotland — whether it be by providing our farmers and crofters the most generous support package in the UK or abolishing business rates for around 100,000 premises.
“At the general election, only a vote for the SNP is a vote to stand up for Scotland’s businesses by offering an escape from Westminster failure and offering a route to re-join the largest single market in the world as an independent country.”
Labour would be ‘disastrous’
Scottish Conservative shadow finance and economy secretary Liz Smith said: “A UK Labour Government would be disastrous for Scotland’s economy because of their commitment to shut down a huge chunk of it – our vital North Sea oil and gas industry – immediately.
“Keir Starmer’s party – like the SNP and the Greens – has turned his back on tens of thousands of skilled workers in the North East, before we have the renewables on stream to meet Scotland’s energy needs.”