STEPHEN FLYNN has warned that a Labour government would be “extremely dangerous” for Scotland. 

During an interview on Sky News the SNP’s leader at Westminster said Labour’s policies on oil and gas presented grave risks, particularly to his own constituency in the north east.

Labour has said it will block new licences for oil and gas exploration in the North Sea if it wins power at the General Election.

However, industry experts and unions have warned that there is no “viable plan” to replace jobs that will be lost in the sector as a result of such a policy.

“It’s not the SNP that’s saying there’s going to be 100,000 job losses as a result of the Labour Party’s policies,” said Flynn.

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“This is industry investment experts that are saying that.

“And it’s not just to do with ending new licences. It’s to do with removing investment allowances and it’s to do with extending taxation upon the industry.

“Now, if you take away those 100,000 jobs you are no longer in a position to reach net zero because the people that can do that for you, the very clever people who live in my part of the world, the ones who can drive investment and deliver that net zero future, are the ones that would lose their jobs.

“They’re a very transient workforce and would seek to go elsewhere to support their families – and rightly so.

“What the Labour Party are proposing is extremely dangerous not just for the north east of Scotland but for right across Scotland’s economy.

“It’s why experts have been calling him out on it, it’s why we’ve been calling him out on it, and it’s why the public need to reflect upon the damage that their policies will do to our economy should they get in power.”

Flynn also accused both Labour and the Conservatives of a “conspiracy of silence” on austerity.

When asked by presenter Trevor Phillips why people should vote SNP if either the Conservatives or Labour were going to end up in Number 10, Flynn said:

“The Westminster election could not be more important for Scotland’s future because we have a Conservative Party and a Labour Party who are partaking in what the IFS [Institute for Fiscal Studies] regard as a conspiracy of silence on austerity.

“£18 billion pounds of public sector cuts are coming down the line and neither of those parties are providing answers in relation to that.

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“When it comes to the economy it is only the SNP who has been clear that what we need to see is a return to the single market, a return to freedom of movement, and investment in net zero technologies of tomorrow.

“And of course when it comes to our NHS it is only the SNP who is championing further investment in our NHS and is stating categorically that we will not open the doors to privatisation in stark contrast to both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.”

It comes after Keir Starmer pledged to slash immigration if he becomes prime minister – although the party refuses to state by how much and over what timescale.

The SNP have expressed concern that Starmer’s promise to “hire Brits first” risks staff shortages in the NHS.