TODAY'S announcement that UK Government support for the Acorn Project at St Fergus was rejected in favour of other carbon capture and storage ventures elsewhere has provoked widespread anger - and that includes me.
Aberdeenshire and the greater north east have contributed massively to the UK energy sector for decades. Now we are making the necessary move from oil and gas to renewables, Acorn was all set to be an incredible, innovative project, shovel ready, with a local workforce ready to upskill and reskill.
The site, just north of Peterhead, is ideal for carbon capture, sequestration, and storage. We have the infrastructure and offshore facilities - but crucially we also have the expertise and willingness of business to do its bit and ensure that the case for Acorn was deliverable.
READ MORE: Malcolm Offord: Acorn Project rejection is 'good news' for Scotland
Only last week, as constituency MSP, I met with several key players from the project who were hopeful they could secure finance. Had that been successful it would have gone a long way to boost our move towards net zero targets while providing much needed local employment.
But no. The UK Government decided not to give the vital investment required. It’s a massive kick in the teeth to all involved, not least the people of the north east who have been overlooked once again. The Conservative administration’s disdain for this area never ceases to astound me.
We need words and deeds, not hollow promises from Boris Johnson and his Cabinet. Betrayal is becoming a staple of the news coverage however - neglect and abandonment of industries is commonplace.
It is shocking but it’s only what we can expect from the Tories on a near daily basis.
As recently as August, Johnson came to Fraserburgh then went offshore to visit a wind farm. Did he have real words of appreciation and support for the oil and gas sector? Did he talk about actual help after the oil stops flowing? No. He claimed that Margaret Thatcher helped the drive to renewables by closing coal mines.
It was contemptible. And anyone in Fraserburgh who works in the fishing industry - a sector that understands the value of Tory promises very well - would have been shaking their heads in disbelief as the man who sold them out paused for his photo opportunities.
Time and again Scotland is pushed aside but the small cadre of Scottish Tory MPs just doubles down on the message from Westminster. Where are their voices? Probably working overtime on the latest spin-doctoring if they even bother with that. We see through them though.
In sharp contrast, the Scottish Government is investing £500 million in the just transition from hydrocarbons to renewables in order to protect the economy of the North East and Moray. Cabinet Secretary for Finance Kate Forbes even challenged the UK Government to match that funding, to show the so called “broad shoulders of the Union”. Result? Tumbleweed.
When it comes to the needs and aspirations of the north east - and Scotland as a whole – Boris and his cohort just do not care, some may even perceive their actions, or lack thereof, as wilful neglect.
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