PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Energy Profits Levy: Gas Sector - 25 February 2026 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

First, I respectfully remind the hon. Gentleman that it was the Conservatives who brought in the energy profits levy in 2022. Oil and gas will be a central part of the energy mix in the UK for decades to come, but it is also right to recognise that there is a transition that needs to be managed and there was an abject failure by the previous Government to manage that transition. The Chancellor confirmed at the Budget that we are ending the EPL on 31 March 2030.

It is clear that the Secretary of State is totally uninterested in the reality of what is happening in the industry because of the EPL. A thousand jobs a month are being lost as a direct result of the Government’s decision, all the while we are importing more at a higher cost with high emissions, jobs are being lost, investments are being turned away and our energy security is being undermined. At the same time, despite what the Secretary of State says, bills are going up for my constituents. Why will he not rectify that and sort out the problem for the whole country?

I do not know whether the hon. Gentleman had a chance to listen to what was on the radio this morning about bills and the progress being made. [Interruption.] Well, let us introduce some facts to the debate. This trend in the North sea did not emerge yesterday; it is a mature basin where there was a 75% reduction in production between 1999 and 2024. We have been a net importer since 2003, and we lost more than 70,000 jobs from the basin in the last 10 years of the Conservatives being in power.

I associate myself with the remarks about Jeane Freeman.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that while oil and gas will play a vital role in the UK for decades to come, we have great opportunities for Scottish businesses in renewables, including at the Methil yard in my constituency, which is ideally placed to deliver renewables infrastructure as well as vital defence contracts such as Programme Euston?

My hon. Friend is entirely right. I had the opportunity to visit the Navantia yard in Methil just a couple of weeks ago. It is just over a year ago that we as a Labour Government stepped in to secure the future of both the Methil and Arnish yards. Since then, Navantia has announced a further £12 million of investment in the Methil site, which is just another example of what is possible when a UK Labour Government and industry work together for Scotland’s benefit.

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

Mr Speaker,

“I would have preferred that Europe could make do with green energy, but the reality is different, and I fundamentally believe that it is better for Europe to get gas from Denmark than from countries outside our continent.”

Those are the words of the Danish Energy Minister—a Minister in a Government looking to extend licences in that country. The Danes can see what is blindingly obvious: we will continue to have a demand for oil and gas for many years, and it is better that we use our own to support our own economy, support our own workers and support the existing industry that will invest in the future. Who does the Secretary of State agree with—the Danish Energy Minister, the head of GB Energy, Scottish Renewables, the trade unions and everyone else, or his colleague the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero?

It is worth reminding the hon. Gentleman that it was actually a Conservative Government who introduced the EPL. We have been clear that the EPL will come to an end in 2030. It is also worth pointing out that oil and gas in the North sea is sold into global markets, and that we lost a third of the jobs in the North sea under the Government in which he served. I am happy to listen to other voices, but the last voice that would I listen to is that of the Scottish Conservative party.

The Secretary of State talks about global markets. Supporting the Scottish oil and gas industry supports 90 times more jobs than imports. Supporting the oil and gas industry yields 150 times more income tax and national insurance revenue than imports. Supporting the Scottish oil and gas industry delivers 400 times more oil and gas company taxes than imports, and supporting the Scottish oil and gas industry has a gross value added of £96 million for the UK, compared with zero from imports. Everyone else understands it. Will the Secretary of State please explain to everyone in the country what on earth the Government are playing at?

There is an aching gap the width of the North sea between what the hon. Member says and what the Conservatives did. The reality is that for all his conversations and protestations now about supporting Scottish oil and gas industry workers, under his Government, we lost a third of the North sea’s workforce. They failed time and again to come up with a plan. It falls to Labour once again to clean up their mess.