Energy and manufacturing workers, trade organisations, unions and policy leaders have combined forces in urging Chancellor Rachel Reeves to “Save Britain’s industrial future” ahead of next week’s crunch Budget on 26th November.
The powerful intervention comes as calls intensify for the government to reform the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) on North Sea oil and gas because of mounting redundancies in the offshore sector, and fears the industrial contagion will spread to onshore supply chain and manufacturing communities.
On average, 1,000 direct and indirect jobs are being lost each month. Without intervention this rate of job losses will continue to 2030.
More than half of energy companies have reported reductions in their headcounts over the last year. Only a quarter of the population feels better-off than they did five years ago and two-thirds say life has got worse.
The offshore trade body OEUK is warning that failure to back homegrown energy risks industrial contagion spreading to onshore supply chains and other industries.
OEUK Chief Executive Dave Whitehouse said:
“What happens in the North Sea doesn’t begin and end in Aberdeen. It ripples through our industrial spine and across the country – in East Anglia, Humberside, Teesside, Tyneside, Shetland and Yorkshire. Energy is a national priority and the calls for policy reform are loud and clear. On Budget Day we and many others across the country are urging Government to save Britain’s industrial future.”
In a letter to the Chancellor, GMB Union’s Scotland Secretary Louise Gilmour gave the same warning:
“There is a human cost to these decisions that goes beyond the bottom line of this year’s budget and impacts workers, families and communities in Scotland and across Britain. The economic case for easing the financial pressures on our offshore industries is clear and compelling but so too is the moral argument for slowing the rushed and needless abandonment of workers and their communities.”
Unite the Union officer John Boland who is chair of the Trade Unions Offshore Co-ordinating Group, added:
“The current government policy of no new licences and high taxation is accelerating the decline of good energy jobs. Without comprehensive policy guarantees for jobs linked directly and indirectly to North Sea production we will see a catastrophic loss of employment and a failure to grow the economy.”
Other commentators expressed similar concerns.
Bobby Cumming, Process & Interface Engineer, Sullom Voe Terminal, Shetland:
“I worry that my long-term career in the UK oil and gas sector may not be secure, despite the crucial role the industry still plays. Please consider the real people behind this industry – especially the younger workforce striving for a fair, responsible energy transition. Treating the oil and gas sector fairly is essential to maintaining skills, protecting jobs, and securing a sustainable future for UK energy.”
Nicola Keith-Gibson, Integrated Asset Planner, Aberdeen:
“The opportunities I’ve had to learn and grow would never have found anywhere else. I was encouraged and supported to further my education, and because of this industry, I’ve been in full-time work for over two and a half decades. It’s allowed me to buy a home, raise a family, and support myself financially—without ever relying on government assistance.”
Carl Brown, Insulation Foreman, Magnus Platform, Middlesbrough:
“For over forty years the offshore sector has provided good employment for people to maintain a steady income and work-life balance – and peace of mind knowing that their household bills will be covered. Like me, many people in my hometown of Middlesbrough depend on the offshore sector for these very reasons. On Magnus, we have people from all corners of the UK as well as personnel from further afield who rely on these jobs.”
Maggie Sandison, Chief Executive, Shetland Islands Council:
“Rather than dismissing the oil and gas sector, our governments should explore how these businesses can be harnessed to accelerate the journey towards net-zero targets. We would like the ongoing importance of oil and gas to be recognised, and for this thriving industry – which is so important to our island economy – to be supported in its transition to renewable energy.”
Nick Butler, Energy Economist, Visiting Professor, Kings College:
“We need to maximise the value of the remaining oil and gas resources in the North Sea at the same time as we develop the next generation of low carbon supplies. We need both to give consumers, including businesses, secure energy supplied at an affordable cost. This budget should reduce the barriers to investment and growth and set out a vision for Britain’s economic future which is grounded and credible.”
Lord Elliot of Mickle Fell, President of the Jobs Foundation:
“Energy companies across the UK are being squeezed by many factors, but there are two steps the UK government could make of its own accord, right now: the granting of licences for exploration in the North Sea again and the reform of the windfall tax. Without these two things happening soon, the United Kingdom may never again regain its energy independence – and the loss of jobs that accompanies that will be profound.”
Learn more about OEUK here.