Starmer Says Oil & Gas in UK Mix for Years in Bid to Calm Unions
- Opposition leader seeks to reassure union critics of proposal
- Union chief warned Labour’s oil-and-gas curbs could cost jobs
Keir Starmer visits Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset, UK, on June 5.
Photographer: Ben Birchall/PAUK opposition leader Keir Starmer said oil and gas would remain part of the country’s energy mix “for many, many years,” as he sought to reassure union critics of his plans to phase out fossil fuels from the North Sea.
Labour Party proposals to ban all new North Sea oil and gas licenses are “naive” and would create a “cliff edge” for the industry that will hit jobs, GMB General Secretary Gary Smith told Sky News on Sunday. That came after Sharon Graham, who heads the Unite union, said on Twitter that there needed to be a properly planned transition to “guarantee jobs, pay and conditions for all the tens of thousands of workers in the North Sea and supporting industries.