Sir Keir Starmer attempted to calm fears from the oil and gas industry in Aberdeen as he addressed the Scottish Labour faithful on Sunday.
The Labour leader told party members gathered in Glasgow that work in the North Sea would continue “for decades”.
It comes after the industry reacted angrily to Labour’s plans for a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas firms.
The party say they will raise the current tax on excess profits from 75% to 78% until at least 2029.
They say this will bring in more than £10 billion to treasury coffers, but business chiefs are urging a u-turn.
Sir Keir addressed the concern directly in his speech, saying the energy innovation race was one Britain “can and must win”.
He said: “I went to Aberdeen recently. Met the workers who maintain the pipelines. 100 miles long – stretching all the way back to the oil and gas fields.
“They’re proud of what has been built in the cold waters of the North Sea. Proud of their work – hard work, against the odds and elements – that built a legacy for this nation. Part of the Scottish story.
“So I’ve said before – and I say again – that work will continue for decades to come.
“But they also told me about the legacy they can build for Scotland’s future. The pride they have in a new opportunity. Converting this infrastructure into a thriving Carbon Capture and Storage industry.
“Literally putting the carbon back in the ground it came from. And giving their community a future – not just for the short-term – but for decades.”
Responding to the speech the SNP, who previously supported a windfall tax similar to the Labour proposals, said a Labour government would be “devastating” for the North East.
SNP spokesperson for Energy and Net Zero Dave Doogan MP said: “The one thing we can be sure of is his Labour government will be devastating for the North East.
“Instead of reassuring businesses in the North East, Labour have doubled down on their latest tax proposals which would destroy jobs, devastate Aberdeen, decimate the economy and demolish any hopes of delivering net zero.
“Sir Keir Starmer said in his speech that ‘working people never let each other down’ – considering his plans for our energy industry could cost 100,000 jobs he is letting working people down.
‘Scotland should send more than a message’
“The only way to stop Sir Keir Starmer’s plans is for voters in the North East to send Westminster a message by voting SNP in the upcoming general election.”
But Sir Keir hit out at the SNP call for voters to “send a message” at the upcoming General Election – expected before the end of the year.
He told the party conference: “The mask has slipped. The pretence they were ever interested in improving the lives of working people. Rather than using their problems as fuel for their grand cause. That has been exposed.
“Scotland should send more than a message to Westminster. It should send a Government. That is our ambition.”
Ryan Crighton, policy director at Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, welcomed Labour’s offer to work with the region to make the country more energy secure.
He told the P&J: “However, as things stand, the party’s windfall tax, exploration ban and removal of investment allowances undermine what Sir Keir Starmer is promising.
“The outcome of these proposed policies could be anywhere between 20,000 and 100,000 job losses according to analysts – and even trade unions are drawing comparisons with closure of the UK’s coal pits in the 1980s.”
He added: “It is welcome that Labour has this weekend acknowledged that the energy transition will only be possible if you leverage in the investment and support of the oil and gas industry.
“We need engagement and dialogue, starting today, to agree a path which protects jobs and helps Labour achieve its green prosperity plan, should it form the next government.”
Scottish Conservative party chairman Craig Hoy said: “Keir Starmer’s claims are totally undermined by his party’s destructive oil and gas policies, which have been roundly criticised by Scottish businesses.
“Labour are betraying North Sea workers and abandoning a crucial Scottish industry.
“Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for energy workers in the North East, unlike Labour and the SNP who want to run down our oil and gas industry, putting tens of thousands of jobs at risk.”
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