Why SNP could reverse presumption against new oil and gas licences as Stephen Flynn hints at U-turn under John Swinney

Stephen Flynn has been accused of stoking internal divisions within the SNP’s election campaign after the party’s Westminster leader suggested the Scottish Government could reverse its presumption against new oil and gas developments to woo voters in the North East.

The Scottish Government’s delayed energy strategy is expected to finally be published before the general election on July 4. The draft strategy put forward a “presumption against” new North Sea oil and gas developments being approved by UK regulators – a policy also backed by Labour.

But Mr Flynn, who represents Aberdeen South, has suggested the final document could indicate a change of policy, potentially leading to the SNP backing further expansion of oil and gas drilling instead of tougher action on climate.

Scottish political parties are squabbling over the North Sea oil and gas industry during the general election campaign. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA

It comes as First Minister John Swinney claimed the sanctions recommended against former health secretary Michael Matheson over the iPad scandal had not overshadowed the first week of the SNP’s election campaign.

MSPs will decide on Wednesday if they agree with the standards committee recommendation that Mr Matheson should be barred from Holyrood for 27 sitting days and lose his salary for 54 days. The Scottish Greens have confirmed they will vote for the sanctions after Mr Matheson was found to have breached the code of conduct for MSPs by racking up a near-£11,000 roaming bill on his parliamentary iPad.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told The Scotsman that Mr Flynn appears to “exert a lot of influence” in trying to shape the campaign issue on oil an gas after speculation the SNP’s Westminster leader played a key internal role in the downfall of Humza Yousaf. Mr Flynn met with the former first minister the day before Mr Yousaf’s catastrophic decision to end the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.

Greens environment spokesperson Mark Ruskell has accused Mr Flynn of posing “a clear and present danger” to reversing the SNP’s climate credentials, warning the SNP Westminster leader “couldn’t be more pro oil and gas if you put a petrol pump in his hand”.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

Mr Flynn had earlier repeated accusations that Labour’s plans to end new oil and gas licences and extend a windfall tax on fossil fuel giants would cost 100,000 jobs – a disputed figure.

“I hate to break it to the Labour party, but there is no way of reaching net zero and there’s no way of capitalising on our offshore and our onshore renewables potential without these individuals,” Mr Flynn told the BBC.

Mr Flynn said the SNP supported “a just sustainable energy transition” that “protects the workforce that we currently have” and “ensures we have a transition to come”.

Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater

Pressed over the Scottish Government’s energy strategy, Mr Flynn hinted the presumption against new fossil fuels projects could be reversed.

He said: “The Scottish Government has a draft energy policy that is out for consultation. The Scottish Government will, of course, in due course come forward with its final energy strategy. The energy strategy, as it stands, is not published in its final form. I’m very much looking forward to it being published in its final form.

“I think we all need to recognise, irrespective of where you are, the importance of the oil and gas sector to Scotland’s economy and the fact that those 100,000 individuals that we are talking about are absolutely crucial in our journey to net zero.”

Responding to the comments, Mr Sarwar told The Scotsman that “oil and gas will play a significant role for decades to come”.

But pointing to the SNP, the Scottish Labour leader claimed “people are starting to see through” the party trying to “say one thing to one audience and another thing to another audience”, adding “we are being upfront and open about what our plan is”.

He said: “Stephen Flynn wants to pretend he’s not part of this SNP. He is the SNP leader at Westminster who it seems has very little influence in terms of the policy delivery of the SNP Government, but actually seems to exert a lot of influence in terms of how this campaign is shaping up.

"This is a man that got rid of Humza Yousaf, that got rid of Ian Blackford and it looks like it’s the man who might be cocking up John Swinney’s election campaign. I think there’s internal problems for the SNP that they really need to deal with. What we’re going to focus on is how we work in partnership with industry across the country to deliver the change they need to see.”

Lorna Slater, co-leader of the Scottish Greens, said the Scottish Government proposing a presumption against new fossil fuel licences was “a breakthrough moment”.

She said: “It made Scotland one of the first oil producing states in the world that was actively trying to address the huge damage that the industry is doing to our climate. We are in a climate emergency that is getting worse by the day. Any move away from that presumption would be reckless in the extreme. It would send a terrible message to the young people of today while pumping more pollution into the air and ripping up our social contact with future generations.

“It is clear that Stephen Flynn wants the policy to be diluted or dropped, but this is a choice for the First Minister. John Swinney can end all of the speculation today by reaffirming his commitment to the position that he was happy to endorse as Deputy First Minister and driving our transition to a fairer, greener and better future.”

The fears over the SNP reversing its climate pledges comes after SNP climate action minister Gillian Martin confirmed a review into restrictions on the installation of wood-burning stoves in new build homes or conversions, branded a “screeching U-turn” by Conservative shadow rural affairs spokeswoman Rachael Hamilton.

The row comes as SNP net zero secretary Mairi McAllan told MSPs the legally-binding climate targets set to be dropped were “always beyond what was possible”.

Speaking before Holyrood’s net zero, energy and transport committee, Ms McAllan said the legislation to cut climate emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, passed in 2019, was never likely to be met.

She said: “The Government at the time wished to be ambitious and my predecessor, Roseanna Cunningham, I understand recommended 70 per cent, it was then a Scottish Labour Party amendment to 75 per cent, which the whole of the Parliament got behind – except, I think, Green colleagues who … wanted to go a little higher.

“The reason that I set that out is that the [Climate Change Committee] advice following passage of the Bill was that, we found the legislated 2030 target of a 75 per cent reduction in Scottish emissions was beyond any of our five scenarios for emissions reduction by that date.

“I say that to make it absolutely clear, my view that it is not any inaction on behalf of the Government in the meantime that has necessitated the need to change this – this was always beyond what was possible. And the legal obligation around it has crystallised under the climate change plan, so I must now change it to make progress.”

Mr Ruskell said the SNP was setting “alarm bells ringing for campaigners up and down the country by casting real and worrying doubt on whether this Government will meet its legal climate obligations”.