ANGUS Robertson has said he will “fight tooth and nail” to bring jobs back to the struggling oil and gas sector as he accused the Tories of having “twiddled their thumbs”.
The SNP’s deputy leader hit out at the Conservatives’ record in government, saying they would rather “oversee the managed decline” of the North Sea than work to ensure the sector can “thrive over the long-term”.
He was speaking as he unveiled four priorities aimed at boosting the sector, which employed 450,000 people in the UK at its peak in 2014, but now employs around 330,000 following the collapse in oil prices.
The SNP is demanding the next UK government prioritises support for exploration in the North Sea, saying this will help ensure a “bright future” for the sector. It wants loan guarantees to be made available, and for the industry to be a priority in the UK’s Brexit negotiations.
In addition, the party wants new incentive schemes to be brought in to encourage oil and gas firms to diversify into renewable energy, claiming this will allow existing skills and expertise to be used in a way that will protect jobs for the future.
“Scotland’s oil and gas sector is emerging from the downturn, businesses are growing in confidence and people are getting back into work after a tough couple of years,” Robertson said.
“Throughout that time, the SNP has sought to support those out of work to retrain in other sectors and we’ve invested in innovation.
“Meanwhile the Tories have twiddled their thumbs and made clear they would rather oversee the managed decline of the oil and gas sector than see it thrive over the long-term.”
Speaking on a visit to ROVOP in Westhill, Aberdeenshire, a company which specialises in providing remotely operated underwater vehicles used by the sector, he added: “The SNP believes in the long-term success of our energy industry and it’s essential that we maximise its potential.”
Elsewhere on the campaign trail Scottish Labour claimed it is “within touching distance” of the SNP in seven seats at the General Election after it analysed the council poll results. Official figures from Elections Scotland show Labour secured 33 per cent of the first preference votes in East Lothian, while the SNP had 28 per cent. Labour also had a higher percentage of first preference votes than the SNP in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, up 2 percentage points, and was 0.91 percentage points higher in Lanark and Hamilton East. In four constituencies – Midlothian, Airdrie and Shotts, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, and Glasgow South West – Labour was within one percentage point of the SNP in the top-ranked candidate votes.
The party’s campaign manager James Kelly said: “This analysis shows that Labour is ahead of the SNP or within touching distance of the SNP in seven seats across Scotland.”
The Tories, meanwhile, repeated an attack on the SNP which Murdo Fraser was condemned for at First Minister’s Questions last week, when Ruth Davidson used a visit to an Edinburgh shortbread factory to claim Scotland is attracting fewer migrants than other parts of the UK due to “higher taxes and falling school standards”.
“[When] we’ve got a third of the landmass and 8.4 per cent of the UK’s population, why do only 4 per cent of people who choose to move and settle in the UK want to come to Scotland?” she said.
“I think that’s because we’ve got the highest taxation, we’re losing our reputation for being the best school area in the country.” Nicola Sturgeon last week hit back at similar comments made by Fraser and said the Scottish Government wants a separate immigration policy to attract more people.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel