Oil and Gas Boss Hits Out at Labour’s Energy Plans
The chairman of leading oil and gas company Serica Energy, David Latin, has poured cold water over Labour’s energy plans. Ahead of Serica’s AGM today, he warned Labour spell disaster for UK investment and jobs in the energy sector. He said Britain is heading down a path of worrying reliance on foreign imports:
“The UK consumes almost twice as much oil and gas as it produces. This deficit will persist even as the country seeks to reduce its consumption of hydrocarbons… yet another increase in the tax rate to 78% is proposed by the Labour Party… would make investment in the vast majority of UK North Sea projects unprofitable”.
Latin exposes Labour’s catchy sound bites like ‘proper windfall tax’ and ‘oil and gas giants’ as misleading. Oil and gas firms already bear a hefty 75% tax burden—three times that of other sectors. Labour’s proposal to jack this up to 78% will sink profitability for crucial North Sea projects with tax revenue and jobs as collateral. Co-conspirators have already seen Labour won’t admit the hundreds of billions their energy plans will cost. Now it’s been said it could steer Britain towards deeper foreign dependence, undermining both economic and environmental goals in one fell swoop…