Climate change: Keir Starmer urges GMB union to back new North Sea oil and gas licence ban

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged the GMB union to support his plan for a move to green energy - after its general secretary said banning new oil and gas licences in the North Sea would create a “cliff edge” and damage jobs.

In a speech in Brighton today (6 June), Starmer acknowledged that change could be unsettling but encouraged union members to “seize the opportunities” of alternative energy. One GMB member responded by telling him his plans were a “threat” to jobs and UK energy security.

What’s the row about?

Starmer will give full details in Scotland next week of his green energy plan if Labour wins the next general election but a proposal to ban all new oil and gas licences in the North Sea was leaked nine days ago to the Sunday Times.

Yesterday (5 June), more than 140 climate and wildlife groups such as Friends of the Earth and the RSPB - as well as major charities including Christian Aid - signed an open letter praising Starmer for the decision, saying it would “re-power the British economy, keep energy affordable, and secure our climate”.

But significant concerns have been raised by unions about the possible impact on jobs if the oil and gas industry is phased out. On Sunday (4 June), GMB general secretary Gary Smith told Sky News the policy was “naive”, would create a “cliff edge” for jobs and suggested Labour was focusing on what it thought was “popular rather than what’s right for the country”.

Sharon Graham from Unite also urged Starmer to be “very clear” that it wouldn’t let workers “pay the price” for the move to renewable energy. Industry bosses are equally worried. Offshore Energies UK, which represents North Sea oil and gas operators, said Labour’s proposal was “simplistic”.

The government said developing new North Sea oil and gas would be more environmentally-friendly than importing those fuels as it would reduce emissions from shipping. It added that new oil and gas projects were already approved only if they met targets agreed at the UN’s Paris conference in 2015 to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists have warned exceeding that threshold could trigger irreversible and catastrophic global warming, causing glaciers to melt and the mass death of ocean life.

What did Starmer say today?

In a bid to win over the GMB, Starmer told its conference in Brighton this morning: “Jobs, good, union jobs, will be fundamental to cleaner, safer work, new and better infrastructure for Britain”.

“I won’t pretend that just because a technology is greener that automatically makes working conditions fairer. So, as new nuclear, battery factories and offshore wind repower Britain, Labour will build strong supply chains that create jobs, new skills and decent wages here in Britain”.

“We will work with you and with industry to seize the opportunities of hydrogen, carbon capture and storage”.

In response, one GMB member - identifying himself as Tam - said Labour’s position was a “threat to Scottish jobs” and warned the proposals could “decimate” communities.

What about Labour’s links with a Just Stop Oil donor?

Starmer has recently faced calls from the Conservative party chairman Greg Clark to hand back more than £1 million in donations from green energy entrepreneur Dale Vince, who has also given financial support to the environmental campaign group Just Stop Oil. Last week, Vince vowed to double public contributions to the protesters in the wake of what he described as a right-wing smear campaign.

Labour has criticised Just Stop Oil’s tactics of stopping traffic and disrupting major sporting events - but says Vince is a “perfectly legitimate person” to collect donations from regardless and maintains they haven’t influenced party policy.