Starmer to woo union support for green energy plans following criticism over North Sea Oil

Sir Keir Starmer will try to persuade trade unions to back his green energy plans after bosses publicly criticised his policy of banning new oil and gas developments in the North Sea.

The Labour leader will seek to reassure trade unions by emphasising that workers and “quality jobs” will be “front and centre” of the shift to renewable energy.

Sir Keir’s appearance at the GMB congress in Brighton comes days after the union’s general secretary, Gary Smith, called his policy on oil and gas production “naïve” and lacking in “intellectual rigour”.

He was joined in his criticism by Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham, who said Labour must be “very clear that they will not let workers pay the price” for the transition to renewable energy.

The Conservatives said Labour had “surrendered their energy policy to their Just Stop Oil funders” – a reference to the £1.5m the party had received from donor Dale Vince.

It was reported at the end of last month that new oil and gas developments in the North Sea would be blocked under a Labour government.

‘Moral imperative’ to stop small boats, says Braverman – politics latest

The newspaper reported that Sir Keir is expected to announce the block in Scotland next month when he sets out his net-zero energy policy.

At the GMB conference Sir Keir will say: “Jobs, good, union jobs, will be fundamental to cleaner, safer work, new and better infrastructure for Britain.

“I won’t pretend that just because a technology is greener that automatically makes working conditions fairer.

“So, as new nuclear, battery factories and offshore wind repower Britain, Labour will build strong supply chains that create jobs, new skills and decent wages here in Britain.

“We will work with you and with industry to seize the opportunities of hydrogen, carbon capture and storage.”

The Labour leader will also respond to calls from unions that Amazon recognise the GMB after the union said it had signed up 700 workers in Coventry.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Sir Keir will also criticise the Conservatives’ approach to growth, saying he is “not even sure they see the problem”.

“If the City of London races ahead while the rest of Britain stagnates, as long as there was a hint of growth on his spreadsheet, Rishi Sunak would think that’s fine. But it’s not.

“If you leave this many people behind, a nation cannot grow fairly. We can’t do it with low wages. We can’t do it with insecure jobs and bad work, with a stand-aside state that doesn’t fight for the future, without a proper industrial strategy.”

Speaking on Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme, Mr Smith said Labour’s policies “are going to create a cliff edge with oil and gas extraction from the North Sea”.

“There is a lot of oil and gas in the North Sea and the alternatives facing the country are that we either produce our own oil and gas – take responsibility for our carbon emissions – or we are going to import more oil and gas,” he said.

“I think workers in the petrochemical industry… are going to be very worried about what Labour are saying and I think it is time for Labour to focus on the right thing rather than what they think is the popular thing.”

He said that the sector had been promised “tens of thousands of jobs” in renewable energy “time and time again” but that they “simply have not emerged”, adding: “That has been the sorry state of the renewables industry around the country.”

Asked about Mr Smith’s comments while on a visit to nuclear power station Hinkley Point C on Monday, Sir Keir told broadcasters that oil and gas would be part of the “future” because of existing licences that would be in use until the 2050s.

“But we need to seize the opportunities for the next generation of jobs”, he said. “And that is in renewables, it is in nuclear, Hinkley Point C here today, staring at the future.”

A Conservative spokesman said: “Tomorrow we’ll just hear more soundbites and wishful thinking, but no plan for the tens of thousands of jobs he would destroy. Even his union paymasters have slammed his policy.”

Read Entire Article