Scottish Labour MP calls for Jackdaw and Rosebank oil fields to go ahead
A Scottish Labour MP has called for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil fields to go ahead. Gregor Poynton said he wants the UK Government to grant licences for the two North Sea projects. Livingston MP Poynton told comedian Matt Forde on The Political Party podcast: "The whole point is that it's meant to be a transition and ultimately. "You'll have seen Jackdaw and Rosebank, two licences that I think need to be put back in. "I'm supportive of those licences being approved because in reality, we're still going to be using oil for the next 20 or 30 years. "I'd rather we make it with the highest environmental standards here in the UK, get the tax from it and allow a just transition for the supply chain to come in. "Because we've got huge skills , not just in Central Scotland but up in Aberdeen in the northeast as well. But it's not all there yet." A court ruled in January that the consent given for the two fields was granted unlawfully and that they must be approved by the UK Government. They now need to pass climate tests if they are to go ahead. Poynton added: "We cannot have a situation where there's a kind of hard stop on that as we will be using it anyway. "So I think it's really important that we continue to focus on that just transition to make sure that is actually just. "And it's not just a sound bite, because these are people's jobs and these skills and these businesses are not coming back if we do not help and support them in this period. "But they can absolutely be the driver of not just Scotland, but the UK's economy for the next 20 or 30 years, if we get this right." Rosebank is 80 miles to the west of Shetland and contains around 300 million barrels of oil, making it the UK's last major undeveloped oil site. Jackdaw is 150 miles east of Aberdeen. Some 13 oil and gas projects are affected by the court ruling earlier this year. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband - who previously called Rosebank " climate vandalism" - is holding a consultation about emissions caused by burning the oil and gas taken from the projects. The result of the consultation will decide whether they go ahead. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero was approached for comment. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here
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