‘No crisis’ in oil industry, says SNP MSP

The SNP MSP Dennis Robertson has come under fire for claiming there is “no crisis” in the North Sea oil industry.

The MSP for Aberdeenshire West claimed the industry was “booming” despite thousands of jobs being lost as a result of the low price of oil.

Mr Robertson made his claim at Holyrood when he challenged Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale after she described the situation as a crisis.

Mr Robertson said: “The member has just mentioned a crisis for the North Sea and the oil. There is no crisis. We have just actually extracted more oil than ever before in the North Sea. We have the most skilled workforce in the North Sea and it is booming.”

Ms Dugdale responded, saying: “I think the member’s constituents will find that an absolutely astonishing remark as will the 50,000 people directly employed by the oil industry and the 50,000 people indirectly related to it in the surrounding areas. That truly is an astonishing remark.”

The Labour MSP for North East Scotland Lewis Macdonald said: “These comments are nothing short of astonishing from a North East MSP. They show that the SNP remain in complete and utter denial about the oil jobs crisis.

“The oil jobs crisis was ignored for too long by the SNP Government in Edinburgh simply because it was politically embarrassing for them.

“Thousands of jobs have been lost not just in Dennis Robertson’s own constituency and across the North East but right across the supply chain. To deny that is simply ludicrous.

“Rather than living in a fantasy land, the SNP Government should assess the impact of the oil jobs crisis on the wider Scottish economy and commit to publishing regular oil and gas bulletins with a specific focus on the impact of oil prices on jobs.”