Keir Starmer’s plan to ban North Sea oil and fuel faces backlash

Sir Keir Starmer may as properly head to Aberdeen to “hand out dole notices” over his plan to ban North Sea oil and fuel developments.

A Labour authorities would proceed to make use of present wells however block any requests for brand new licences.

But the transfer would “guarantee” greater vitality costs and deter funding within the UK, in keeping with the Institute of Economic Affairs.

Andy Mayer, vitality analyst on the assume tank, stated: “Last year, the opposition wanted to supertax the North Sea to reduce the cost of living.”

“This year they want to destroy it, guaranteeing higher prices.”

“Despite Net Zero plans, we will need fossil fuels for the next 20-30 years. With the global energy market increasingly plagued by uncertainty, politicians’ hostility towards using the resources beneath our own waters is all the more perplexing.”

“A smart transition would use our natural wealth to fund research and development into better, cheaper solutions. This is the opposite, seeking higher prices to force change.”

“The mere signal sent by this proposal will deter investment, which has already been damaged by government taxes and regulations.”

“With this policy, Keir Starmer might as well jump in an Aberdeen taxi and hand out the dole notices.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak helps new oil and fuel exploration and vitality licences come beneath the UK authorities’s management, fairly than Holyrood’s.

Under Sir Keir’s plans, Labour would solely borrow to put money into inexperienced enterprises.

But critics declare it can result in larger reliance on vitality provides from different international locations.

Ryan Crighton, coverage director at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, dismissed the plan as “pie in the sky stuff drawn up with zero engagement with the industry, or the region, which has been powering the UK for 50 years”.

Paul de Leeuw, director of vitality transition from on the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, stated Sir Keir’s plan was “at the naive end of the spectrum”.

A Labour supply stated: “We are against the granting of new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea. They will do nothing to cut bills as the Tories have acknowledged, they undermine our energy security, and would drive a coach and horse through our climate targets. But Labour would continue to use existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainably as we transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”