Ed Miliband urged to visit Aberdeen as Tory candidate warns oil and gas industry extinction

Conservative candidate Douglas Lumsden, standing in the Aberdeen South by‑election, has written to Energy Secretary Ed Miliband urging him to visit the city. Lumsden accuses the UK Government’s decision not to reverse the ban on licences for new oil and gas field exploration of pushing the industry “into extinction” and potentially “the final nail in the coffin for many businesses, and with it Aberdeen’s economy”. He also criticised the government for lifting a ban on UK imports of diesel and jet fuel made from Russian oil while maintaining the domestic extraction ban.

The letter follows recent job‑cut announcements by energy firms EnerMech and Xodus Group, heightening concerns about employment in Scotland’s oil‑and‑gas hub. SNP candidate Richard Thomson joined the criticism, blaming Westminster parties for “syphoning off” revenues and pointing to a windfall tax that he says is destroying 1,000 jobs. A UK government spokesperson responded that issuing new licences would not improve energy security and emphasized a shift toward clean, home‑grown power, citing plans for 40,000 new clean‑energy roles in Scotland by 2030.