Conservatives declare an oil and gas emergency in the North East of Scotland

·        Kemi Badenoch launches joint campaign with Scottish Conservatives to get Britain drilling again. 

·        Demands the government over-turns its moratorium on new oil and gas licenses and scraps Energy Profits Levy in the upcoming Budget. 

·        Calls on government to recognise that gas will be a key part of the energy mix in future because it means cheaper bills and more secure energy – delivering a stronger economy. 

Today [Wednesday 5th November 2025], as the Prime Minister jets off to COP30 in Brazil, Leader of the Conservative Party Kemi Badenoch is in Scotland standing up for Britain's oil and gas workers who face losing their jobs and livelihoods under Labour and the SNP.   

The Leader of the Opposition will launch a new joint campaign with the Scottish Conservatives to get Britain drilling again.   

Speaking on a visit to Aberdeen, Badenoch says that the North East of Scotland, and the United Kingdom more widely, is facing an oil and gas emergency due to the anti-growth policies of the Labour Government in Westminster and the SNP in Holyrood.   

She will warn that the offshore gas and oil sector risks disappearing altogether, meaning job losses in Scotland and across the whole of the UK, leaving us more reliant on energy imported from abroad.     

Her visit today also follows job losses at Harbour Energy and the closure of Petrofac, as well as the closure of Grangemouth Refinery in Falkirk and the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire.   

Badenoch has called on the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to scrap the Energy Profits Levy at the Budget later this month, and the Prime Minister to over-rule the Net Zero Secretary, Ed Miliband, and his moratorium on new Oil and Gas Licenses, which have damaged growth and productivity.  

Last month, as part of our plan for a stronger economy, the Conservatives outlined a Cheap Power Plan – a plan which Reform UK have now tried to copy and paste - which will cut electricity bills by 20% or £165 for families across the country and provide further savings for businesses by scrapping Net Zero policies, including the Carbon Tax on electricity generation and the Renewable Obligation subsidy scheme.    

Rather than copying and pasting our Cheap Power Plan, which is fully funded, the Government are increasing the cost of electricity bills and are hitting households with a £100 Boiler Tax as they try to force families to buy expensive heat pumps before they want to.   

At the same time, the UK Government's Clean Power 2030 target relies on phasing out gas power almost entirely, while the Climate Change Committee have proposed shifting policy costs from electricity bills to gas bills – making it more expensive for people to heat their home.   

The Conservative Party is ruling out adding more taxes onto people's gas bills, recognising that cheap energy and cutting bills has to be the priority.  

That is why Kemi Badenoch is also demanding Ed Miliband come clean and set out whether he plans to move more costs onto gas bills in what would be another punishing move for consumers. 

Kemi Badenoch MP, Leader of the Conservative Party, said: 

“Scotland, and the whole United Kingdom, faces a growing oil and gas emergency thanks to Labour's inability to put our national interest first. 

“By the end of Labour's first term in office, it's not inconceivable that Scotland's oil and gas sector will be at serious risk, with domestic production currently set to half by 2030 . That would be a shocking indictment of Labour's energy policy, and a dangerous act of economic self-sabotage.

“Enough is enough. Keir Starmer must find the backbone to ditch Ed Miliband's Net Zero fanaticism, which is forcing up bills and driving away industry. Instead, the Prime Minister should do what our economy needs, scrap the Energy Profits Levy and end the moratorium on new licences in the North Sea. If the Labour government fails to act, we could be witness to the end of our domestic energy security as we know it.” 

Andrew Bowie MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, said: 

“Labour and the SNP are putting the economic livelihood of Scotland, and the economic security of the UK in serious danger.   

“We need secure and cheap energy for years to come yet between the moratorium on new licences and the burdensome Net Zero mandates this industry is shedding jobs at alarming rates. This cannot continue.   

“Only the Conservatives have a clear plan to back our domestic energy industry - putting it front and centre in our plan to deliver a stronger economy.”