Shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy said last night there was “nothing” in the Budget to secure the “untapped potential” of the North Sea.
The Labour frontbencher insisted the chancellor should have “offered more” because “everyone in Britain” had benefited from the industry during the good times.
Writing in today’s Press and Journal, she said it had helped fund the NHS and improved national security by reducing the UK’s dependence on imports.
She also argued it had bettered the country’s energy security by providing a reliable supply of gas and oil.
“Everyone in Britain has benefited from North Sea production in the good times,” she added.
“So it is only right everyone help in these tough times.
“Given the hundreds of thousands of skilled jobs in Scotland and in world-class supply chain businesses right across the country, the chancellor should really have offered more.
“It has been estimated that as many as 20 billion barrels of oil and gas remain to be exploited in UK waters but there was nothing in the Budget to ensure we will be able to seize on this untapped potential.”
The Wigan MP said that in spite of the slump in oil prices, the industry remained a “crucial asset”.
She stressed it would only be “further endangered” if Britain voted to leave the European Union.
She added: “Indeed, anything that served to impair the freedom of movement and trade upon which many companies rely would deal another devastating blow to the industry during what is already a very difficult time.”
Asked whether the chancellor had done enough for the industry to survive the downturn in the post-Budget briefing, Mr Osborne’s spokesman said: “There’s no other government I would say in the world that has made fiscal changes as broad as this.
“We can’t completely insulate the industry, but we are going further than people expected.”
