Industrial Strategy: Impact on Scotland
1/54. What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of the industrial strategy on Scotland.
The industrial strategy is transformational for Scotland. A year ago, the Government inherited an industrial crisis after 14 years of no plan and a complete lack of interest on the part of the SNP and the Conservatives when it came to Scottish industry. However, I congratulate the SNP on its job creation programme: it has created tens of thousands of jobs in China, Turkey and Poland. Rather than standing up for Scotland, it has been shipping Scottish jobs overseas. Scotland has a proud industrial past, and Labour’s industrial strategy will work to ensure that we have a bright industrial future. We in the Scotland Office will be doing all that we can to exploit these opportunities.
The industrial strategy identifies defence as a key industry. It is a big employer in Glasgow, and could create many good jobs for my constituents. However, the SNP has banned the Scottish National Investment Bank and Scottish Enterprise from investing in defence companies. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this shows that the SNP Government are weak when it comes to defending Scotland, and are denying Glaswegians many good jobs?
You will be unsurprised, Mr Speaker, to hear me say that I agree with my hon. Friend. I was astonished to learn that the SNP was blocking investment in a national specialist welding centre on the banks of the Clyde, putting its own student politics before job opportunities for working-class young people, and that it was doing so at a time when one in six are not in education, employment or training. Putting politics before people is just not good enough, but where the SNP stands down, Labour will step up and fund that centre. We will invest in defence, and create a defence dividend that will mean jobs and opportunities for everyone in Scotland.
With the exception of the London vortex that sucks in wealth capital and talent from across these islands, it is Scotland that tops the league for foreign direct investment. It is Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh that are among the top 10 cities in the UK for FDI, as they have been for 10 of the 18 years in which the SNP has been in power. What has the Scottish Secretary ever done to get foreign direct investment into Scotland?
The hon. Gentleman needs to calm down a little bit. One of the key opportunities for investment in Scotland is the opportunity to invest in the renewable energy sector, so that we can realise our plan for clean energy by 2030. Much of that will be capitalised by the national wealth fund and GB Energy, both of which the hon. Gentleman and his party voted against.
I call the shadow Secretary of State.
Last Sunday, 6 July, marked 37 years since the Piper Alpha disaster, an incident that claimed the lives of 165 men and affected many more, particularly in and around the north-east of Scotland. We remember them, their families and friends, and indeed all those who continue to do the dangerous work offshore in our oil and gas industry, ensuring that the lights stay on in this country. Will the right hon. Gentleman please tell the House when the industrial strategy will replace the tens of thousands of jobs that are set to be lost in the North sea on his watch?
I join the hon. Gentleman in paying respects on the 37th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster. It has left an indelible scar on Scotland, and we will never forget the lives that were lost, but we will also never forget that it was the catalyst for making sure that the North sea is the safest place to do oil and gas anywhere in the world—the UK is world leading. I can answer the hon. Gentleman’s question by saying that he and his party have opposed all the initiatives that this Government have put forward in order to get to clean power by 2030. I gently say to him that when he finds out who the former Energy Minister was in the previous Government, he is going to be very disappointed.
We are very proud of our record on supporting the oil and gas industry. Talk about the Government having their heads in the sand: 400 jobs will be lost in the North sea every two weeks on the Secretary of State’s watch. That is a Grangemouth-sized event every two weeks. The only strategy that this Government have is a deindustrialisation strategy. There is an industry with a skilled workforce that is ready and willing to generate energy, revenue and jobs in Scotland, so come on, Secretary of State, let us have a real industrialisation strategy. Remove the energy profits levy, overturn the ban on licences, and let us return to a policy of maximum economic recovery from the North sea.
The energy profits levy was brought in by the former Energy Minister in the previous Government, who just so happens to be sitting across from me at the Dispatch Box today. We have the North sea transition consultation, which has closed. That sets out the pathway to a just transition in the North sea, which will protect jobs, and we want to get to clean power by 2030. Those are the jobs and the careers of the future, but that transition has to take those jobs with it.