'You’ve not fought our corner': Oil and gas worker in heated exchange with SNP minister over jobs support

During a fiery BBC Question Time in Aberdeen, the SNP’s Mairi McAllan came under fire amid accusations her party has not supported energy workers and failed to clarify whether the principle of new exploration for oil and gas should take place, despite repeated questioning.

Ms McAllan was representing the SNP in place of SNP leader John Swinney, who Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, claimed “isn’t here because he knows that he cannot answer these questions”.

The Labour UK government has vowed to ban new licences, but the SNP’s position has appeared to waver between support and opposing new drilling, with the party currently mimicking Boris Johnson’s stance to support exploration if climate tests can be met.

Pressed over whether new licences should be approved, Ms McAllan said: “Energy security is clearly a factor, which is developing very rapidly just now.

READ MORE: SNP's climate, oil and gas fence-sitting is easy option for John Swinney ahead of divisive election

“Energy security and climate compatibility are the two things we have always been clear need to be taken into account. I accept that energy security and the picture around energy security has changed significantly.”

She argued that “we have to take an evidence-led position”.

After facing more questions over the SNP’s stance, she added: “If it can be demonstrated that it’s both climate compatible and required for energy security, then yes it should.”

But an oil and gas worker in the audience accused Ms McAllan and the SNP of failing to stand up for North Sea workers.

READ MORE: 'Industrial catastrophe' warning as unions rally against North Sea oil and gas decline as green jobs lost

He said: “I work in the oil and gas industry. What I see, really quite dramatically, is a shift out of the North Sea for a lot of suppliers, a lot of losses of jobs. It’s all self-inflicted, I think.

“What I’m disappointed at, I know it’s reserved matter, but the SNP is not fighting our corner”, he added.

“You’ve not fought our corner and it’s very disappointing. You’ve flip-flopped and now you’re in this wishy-washy half-in half-out. It’s nonsense.

“There’s more to (it than) energy security and there’s more to climate change. There’s jobs, there’s livelihoods, there’s the whole North East economy built on this.”

Mr Findlay criticised the SNP for what he said was a change in position on oil and gas.

“John Swinney should be here to answer to the people of the north east of Scotland as to his opposition to oil and gas,” he said.

Mr Findlay added: “I suspect he can’t look the people in this area in the face, because what he’s been doing in the last few weeks is pretending that the SNP have somehow softened or changed their position”.

Turning to Ms McAllan, he said: “He’s been completely ambiguous about oil.

“The reason John Swinney isn’t here is because he knows that he cannot answer these questions.

“What we should be doing, going back to the original question, is given the wake up call right now, the volatility in our world, the fact we can’t rely on allies as we once did, makes energy security absolutely critical.

“We need to drill for everything we have in the North Sea, we need to get behind the renewables industry…and we need to back new nuclear.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told the audience that “a commitment was made on Rosebank and Jackdaw”, two oil and gas developments that have been forced to reapply to the UK government for environmental consent due to legal cases.

Mr Sarwar added: “We should commit to that promise and grant the licences.”

Asked by host Fiona Bruce if is has “said that to Ed Miliband”, the UK Energy Secretary who will make a final decision, Mr Sarwar said: “I have.”

The Scottish Labour leader argued that alongside investment in renewables, was a need to ensure supply chains are sustainable.

“We should end the ideological block to clean nuclear energy in Scotland”, he added.

Ms McAllan highlighted the UK Labour government’s controversial energy profits levy, pointing to fears in the oil and gas sector is it is “causing about 1,000 job losses a month”.

“It is absolutely killing the industry”, she added.

In response, Mr Sarwar said: “The energy profits levy was going to come to an end but the illegal actions of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump in Iran meant energy prices went through the roof again.”

Reform UK’s leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, set out a proposal he claimed would allow energy prices to be cut, despite fossil fuels being traded on a global market.

Nigel Farage’s party has explicitly called for more drilling in the North Sea and said it would end net zero policies, despite the thousands of jobs and billions of investment dependent on Scotland’s renewables sector.

Speaking on Question Time, Mr Offord said: “You do a licence arrangement with the energy companies, they bring the gas on shore only for domestic use - not for export and we get the price down.”

Ms Bruce interrupted, asking him for clarity that “even if they can get a higher price abroad, you’ll just make them do it somehow”.

“Yes”, Mr Offord said.

“That’s the cost of the licence. They can make a margin on that.”

He added: “Then we can then talk about a transition because we can then use that as our transition fuel. We’re de-industrialising this country and that is costing a lot of jobs and a lot of livelihoods, especially here in the North East.”

Scottish Greens co-leader, Gillian Mackay, told the audience that “I don’t think that any more drilling in the North Sea is compatible with the climate or with energy security”.

She added: “Barrells of oil from the North Sea or from anywhere else are traded on a global market by these global corporations, no matter where that comes from. There are current reserves that we are using without opening new fields that can be used to help with that transition.

“Both governments haven’t done enough to support the workers in these industries. We need to see that backing from government now rather than leaving it to these big corporations that don’t actually are about the communities and will cut and run when it’s convenient for them to do so.”