The prime minister has been urged to impose a greater squeeze on oil and gas profits to offset the cost of living crisis, as industry leaders met for a “summit” on the shift to renewables.
SNP Westminster chief Ian Blackford confronted Rishi Sunak in the Commons days after it emerged BP made £7.1 billion in profit this summer.
It has been reported Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are considering raising the windfall tax to plug a massive budget blackhole and generate £40 billion for the Treasury over five years.
Dozens of industry leaders, staff and union reps met Scottish Government figures in Aberdeen on Wednesday, just as Mr Blackford was demanding higher levies.
The meeting was arranged after concerns about gaps in plans to move away from fossil fuel reliance in the north-east and beyond.
In Westminster, Mr Blackford challenged the prime minister to use offshore profits to fund struggling households.
‘Difficult decisions’
“The Prime Minister keeps telling us that difficult decisions need to be made, but austerity 2.0 is not a difficult decision,” he said.
“It is what it has always been – a Tory political choice to hit the poorest hardest.
“In the week that BP saw quarter profits of 7.1 billion, why not take the easier decision to bring in a proper windfall tax?”
Mr Sunak drew on his former role at the Treasury and claimed oil and gas cash is a “point of difference” between Conservatives and the SNP.
The Prime Minister added: “As chancellor, I introduced a new levy on oil and gas companies because I believed that was the right thing to do, but where we will always differ is we believe our North Sea producers do have an important role to play in our transition to net zero.”
Earlier, SNP government minister Richard Lochhead told the Press & Journal oil workers do not have to fear the taps being turned off in the shift to renewable sources.
But he warned the region cannot rely on oil forever.
Earlier this year, Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin revealed local concerns about moves away from the high-value oil and gas industry.
In Aberdeen, SNP energy secretary Michael Matheson took the lead with industry figures.
At the SNP’s national conference in Aberdeen last month, the first minister said she wants the city to be a global renewables capital.
The Scottish Government has committed £500 million to support projects in the north-east which will boost clean energy.
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