Scottish Labour leadership candidate Joe Fagan MSP has pledged to stand up for Scotland’s oil and gas workers, promising he will not stop lobbying the UK Government until the Jackdaw and Rosebank projects are approved and the jobs linked to them are protected.
The intervention comes after BP announced plans to put its North Sea oil and gas business up for sale, prompting fresh concern about confidence, investment and the future of high-skilled energy jobs in Scotland.
Mr Fagan said the decision demonstrated the need for political leadership that backs Scotland’s energy workers rather than treating them as collateral damage.
He accused the SNP of years of mixed messages and political flip-flopping, while failing to set out a serious energy policy for Scotland’s industrial future.
Mr Fagan said approval of Jackdaw and Rosebank must be matched by a proper plan from the Scottish Government to support workers through training, skills passporting and new opportunities across oil and gas, offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, manufacturing, ports and the wider energy supply chain.
Candidate for Scottish Labour Leader Joe Fagan MSP said: “Scotland’s oil and gas workers deserve a champion.
“I will not stop lobbying the UK Government until Jackdaw and Rosebank are approved and the jobs linked to these projects are protected.
“BP’s decision should be a wake-up call. Scotland cannot afford political uncertainty, mixed messages or an SNP Government that has spent years flip-flopping while failing to deliver a serious energy policy.
“It is right that companies making genuinely exceptional profits pay their fair share, especially when household bills are high. But taxation cannot be the whole of our energy policy. We cannot stand on the sidelines while investment stalls, businesses close and workers lose their jobs.
“Jackdaw and Rosebank should be part of a real transition to a new industrial future for the North Sea.
“These projects can provide the world-class jobs Scotland needs to move from the first generation of North Sea production to a second. There are huge opportunities ahead in offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
“The story of the North Sea does not need to be a story of decline. It can be a story of industrial revival, if we protect skilled workers now and invest seriously in the industries of the future.
“These are highly skilled workers in a world-class industry. They have powered Scotland for generations, supported communities across the North East and beyond, and developed skills that will be vital to our energy future.
“But backing Jackdaw and Rosebank is not enough on its own. The SNP needs to act with much greater urgency to support training, protect jobs and make proper use of the skills Scotland already has.
“That means better skills passporting, greater access to retraining, stronger support for the supply chain and a serious industrial strategy linking oil and gas, renewables, manufacturing, ports, engineering and the grid.
“There will be no just transition if the workers and communities who built Scotland’s energy industry are told to carry the cost of change themselves.
“This is not about freezing Scotland’s economy in the past. It is about protecting highly skilled jobs while investing in the future.
“Oil and gas will continue to form part of Scotland’s energy mix for years to come. The question is whether we support Scottish jobs and Scottish industry, or import more of the energy we need while allowing our skills and supply chains to disappear.
“Scotland should be leading the energy transition, but that will happen only if we keep skilled workers in employment, support them into the jobs of the future and ensure that the wealth created here benefits communities here.
“As Scottish Labour leader, I would stand up for energy workers in oil and gas, renewables and every part of Scotland’s industrial future.
“My message to workers in Scotland’s energy industry is simple: in me, you will have a champion.”