‘Osborne it’s time you repay the industry that paid you’
By Callum McCaig
Chancellor George Osborne
Scotland’s oil and gas industry has generated well over £300billion for Treasury coffers and it employs more than 375,000 people from across the UK. It is an important industry for the north-east of Scotland and the national economy, and one that has benefited UK government expenditure for very many years.
With 20 billion barrels of oil still to be extracted from the North Sea basin, the long-term future of the industry can be bright. But if we want to keep the many thousands of skilled jobs the sector provides, and carry on enjoying the billions of pounds of tax revenue generated, then the UK Government must take action now to support the industry through what is a difficult but not insurmountable period.
