John Swinney confirms SNP U-turn on new North Sea oil and gas

John Swinney has said he opposes a UK government bid to ban new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea, confirming the SNP has U-turned on the issue. The First Minister said each application should instead be assessed on a case-by-case basis as to whether it is better for the climate than importing fossil fuels. It comes almost four years after the SNP’s draft energy strategy, published under Nicola Sturgeon, included a presumption against new oil and gas drilling.

Decisions over North Sea licensing are reserved to the UK government, but the SNP has long taken a position. This has shifted under Mr Swinney to become more favourable to the industry, and his latest comments confirm the ‘presumption against’ has now been ditched. The Scottish Greens called it “a shameful retreat and a slap in the face for future generations”. The UK government announced its draft Energy Independence Bill on Wednesday, which would put into law the ban on new oil and gas exploration in the North Sea.

The announcement drew the ire of both industry and the Prime Minister’s political opposition. Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Mr Swinney said: “The Energy Independence Bill that was introduced by the UK government brings together a number of measures that the Scottish government supports, but we do not support the provisions of that Bill in relation to the position on the granting of new licenses for the exploration of new oil and gas fields.”

He said any new applications “need to be considered in relation to their impact on our carbon reduction targets and given the fact that we’re going to be using oil and gas for some years to come”. Malcolm Offord, the leader of Reform UK in Scotland, said he was “delighted” by Mr Swinney’s “U-turn”. He added: “It’s time now to re-industrialise our country again, to re-energise our country again, to get our people back to work and loud and proud again.

“We cannot do that with the most expensive energy in the western world. We are floating on a sea of affordable and secure oil and gas – it is madness to shut down the North Sea. “So let me ask the First Minister again, why has he not fought tooth and nail to keep the North Sea open? It is Scotland’s oil, why has John Swinney abandoned Scotland’s oil?” Responding, the First Minister said £2 billion would flow into the Treasury in tax revenues from the North Sea, accusing the UK government of cutting Scotland’s budget by £650 million in real terms.

Mr Offord called the Energy Independence Bill a “seismic moment” which would sound “the death knell for Aberdeen“. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay also pushed the First Minister on oil and gas, asking if he supports the Rosebank oil field near Shetland – the same question he asked five times last week. Mr Swinney again said any approvals must be assessed for their impact on emissions. Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “This is a shocking U-turn and another extremely disappointing step from John Swinney.

He is further shredding what remains of his party’s climate credentials. “It is a huge departure from only a few years ago when the Scottish government was committed to a presumption against oil and gas. “When even the UK government is taking a stronger position, it shows how far the SNP has drifted. It is a shameful retreat and a slap in the face for future generations. “The Scottish government should be putting people and planet first, not falling into line behind big polluters who are destroying our planet.”

It came as new polling showed almost two-thirds of Labour supporters want to see UK ministers approve Rosebank. Research by Opinium for Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) found 65 per cent of those who backed Labour in the 2024 general election want to see the project – which is the largest undeveloped oil field in UK waters – get the green light. Despite Labour’s manifesto in 2024 under Sir Keir Starmer pledging no new oil and gas licences would be granted, less than a fifth (17 per cent) of the party’s voters said Rosebank should be rejected.

With the UK government, now under Andy Burnham, having already approved the Jackdaw gas field off the coast of Aberdeen, 68 per cent of Labour supporters agreed this was the right decision. The polling – which questioned 2,050 adults across the UK – found that overall, 55 per cent of people were in favour of increasing the country’s domestic oil and gas production, with 63 per cent saying Rosebank should be given the go-ahead.