Former Lanarkshire MSP Alex Neil has urged First Minister John Swinney to "grow a backbone" and back North Sea drilling following the SNP's humiliating by-election defeat in Aberdeen South. Neil, who served as Airdrie and Shotts MSP, warned that voters are furious at politicians on both sides of the border for treating the oil and gas sector—which supports more than 60,000 jobs in the north east—as a "sacrificial lamb".
By-Election Shock and Political Fallout
The Scottish Conservatives secured a shock victory in Thursday's by-election, with former MSP Douglas Lumsden winning a majority of over 6,000 votes, defeating the SNP's Richard Thomson. This marks the Tories' first Scottish by-election win since 1973. The Conservatives had framed the vote as "a referendum on the oil and gas industry".
Neil, who served in SNP Cabinets under both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, called on Swinney to renounce the "economic madness" of Sturgeon-era opposition to new oil and gas projects, including the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field.
Neil's Call for Leadership
Speaking to the Sunday Mail, Neil said: "It's about backbone. Swinney needs to stand up to the Greens and to Sturgeon because he's sitting on the fence and that's the worst of all possible worlds. If you sit on the fence, you don't please anybody. You've got to come off the fence, especially when Scotland's economy demands it."
He added: "Now the people are demanding it. A clear majority of people in Scotland think that we should continue to develop our oil and gas fields as long as we possibly can, as long as they're profitable, as long as they're producing good, high earning jobs. There's public support for this, but I think John's feart. We are making ourselves the sacrificial lamb when no one else in the world is contemplating such a stupid policy."
Labour's Stance and Future Implications
Meanwhile, the Labour government under Keir Starmer and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has introduced a controversial ban on oil and gas exploration in the drive for Net Zero. Following Andy Burnham's seismic by-election win in Makerfield, the former Greater Manchester mayor is strongly tipped to oust Starmer from No 10. Attention is turning to his possible Cabinet picks, with Miliband, a close Burnham ally, currently the frontrunner with bookies to become Chancellor.
Neil, 74, warned: "The worst possible thing Andy Burnham can do is make Ed Miliband the Chancellor of the Exchequer because he'll then be in an even more powerful position to destroy the oil and gas industry. It's quite clear that is on his agenda and that has huge implications. He couldn't care less what happens to Scotland, the Scottish economy, or the people in Aberdeen and the northeast of Scotland. He just doesn't care because he's ideologically obsessed with getting rid of the oil and gas industry."
Neil advised Burnham: "My strong advice to Andy Burnham is not to touch Miliband with a barge pole, don't let him near the Treasury, because that will be Burnham's downfall. Make him foreign secretary and let him go and travel the world as much as he likes. But don't give him a say in economic policy because he's absolutely out of tune with the people."
