A leading union figure and major Labour Party backer has launched a scathing attack on Labour’s North Sea oil and gas policies, accusing the party of “closing down Aberdeen” and warning of dire consequences for jobs, energy security, and the environment.
Gary Smith, General Secretary of the GMB union – one of Labour’s largest financial supporters – voiced his concerns in an interview with the Daily Record, stating:
“Cutting off investment into oil and gas is bonkers. We could be getting investment into oil and gas that will allow us to create jobs. Just switching off investment in the North Sea is absolute madness. It’s bad for national security, it’s bad for jobs and the truth is it’s catastrophic for the environment because we are importing oil and gas, which is far more carbon intensive than producing it ourselves.”
Smith further warned that Labour’s approach to net zero could devastate Aberdeen, the heart of the UK’s oil and gas industry:
“We don’t disagree with the destination. We realise that climate change is a huge threat. We want to build a low carbon future, but you do not do that by closing down Aberdeen, by shutting off domestic oil and gas production.”
He also expressed skepticism about Labour’s flagship Great British Energy project, saying the government had “over-promised” on the number of jobs it would create:
“The risk is they’re going to open a shiny new office with a dozen civil servants in Aberdeen on a high street full of charity shops – because they’re closing the city down.”
Smith’s comments echo widespread anxiety in Aberdeen and across the North Sea sector. Nearly 200 local firms, alongside unions and workers, have signed open letters and staged protests demanding Labour drop its proposed ban on new oil and gas licences until a concrete jobs plan is in place.
At a recent demonstration outside Aberdeen’s Maritime Museum, workers and union officials chanted “no ban without a plan.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly denied that the party’s policies would cause a “cliff edge” for North Sea jobs, emphasising that existing licences will be honoured and promising the creation of 53,000 new clean energy jobs through the publicly-owned GB Energy, headquartered in Scotland
However, industry groups warn that Labour’s plans-including a higher windfall tax and the ban on new licences-are already causing investment delays and could cost tens of thousands of jobs.
The SNP and Conservatives have seized on the union criticism, with SNP MSP Kevin Stewart accusing Labour of treating Scotland “as an afterthought” and failing to back local carbon capture projects. Meanwhile, Labour faces pressure from both industry and activists, with some environmental groups arguing the party’s plans do not go far enough.
