Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Thursday 3rd September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Katie White]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I admire her trying to lure me into a conversation on independence and devolution. I am afraid that that is not part of the scope of the discussion today, so I will not go into that.

On the timeline, I have said that a decision will be taken in due course. We are fully aware of the need for clarity, but the most important thing for me is the robustness of the process. The worst outcome for everybody would be if a comment I made today ended up inadvertently undermining the process. I agree on making sure that we have a just transition, and on supporting our Scottish workers when it comes to the jobs and industries of the future.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

I think we need a pragmatic approach on oil and gas—one that is focused on people and prioritising British businesses and communities. I want to see a positive decision on both Rosebank and Jackdaw, but does the Minister agree that we are in this position—with less clarity and less security about what is going to happen—because of the Conservatives’ abject failure to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and to run a properly managed decision process on Jackdaw and Rosebank in the first place, all while overseeing an absolute failure to effectively transition to a low-carbon economy, and the loss of over 120,000 jobs in the industry?

[Katie White]

I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent analysis of why we have ended up here; he is absolutely right. It is on all of us to respect the process. I think that the feeling of the House is that we want clarity, and the way to achieve that is by having a robust process. It is hugely important that we respect that today. I understand the amount of interest in this, but as I said in my opening remarks, I find it a little audacious that this is something that we have had an about turn on—and it is not the only thing that this shadow Secretary of State has had an about turn on.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Katie White]

I thank the hon. Gentleman once again for championing this issue. I know he has been calling for it, and I welcome the engagement. It was exciting to see the first deep geothermal project being opened in February, as a result of the contracts for difference, and more projects are coming online as a result. We are prioritising the heat network, but I would welcome more conversations with him to ensure that we are making all the right choices.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

West Fife has huge potential for geothermal. In particular, the Comrie colliery development, at a former mining site, is now being regenerated to create leisure facilities, housing and other mixed-use development. It has been exploring the possibility of using deep geothermal from the former mine. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this in more detail, and perhaps come to visit the site to see its huge potential?

[Katie White]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s question. The opportunity to visit sounds fabulous, and I look forward to it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

Bills are going down by 7% from next week. We do not need to imagine a future with independence and what would happen with the SNP in power. Let us look at the record. The hon. Member’s party promised a publicly owned energy company six years ago; we delivered Great British Energy within 18 months. His party scrapped fuel poverty targets; we are lifting 1 million households out of fuel poverty by the end of this Parliament. While his party in government in Scotland abandoned the heat in buildings Bill, this Government are making the biggest ever upgrade to home efficiency through the warm homes plan, with £15 billion of spending.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree one reason we need to see lower energy bills in Scotland—and that has been blocked—is the SNP’s ideological objection to nuclear power? I recently received a written answer from the Minister for Energy regarding a study by GB Energy to assess Scotland’s full potential for nuclear power. Will the Minister work with his colleagues to ensure that that analysis is published as quickly as possible so that the people of Scotland can see exactly how much we are missing out on thanks to the SNP’s ideological objection to nuclear power, and how much people are suffering as a result?

Oil and Gas

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Graham Leadbitter]

I think I am here to scrutinise what your Government are doing—that is the job of MPs in the House of Commons. I would also say that Conservative Members are no better on this. Government Members have an ideology of driving towards net zero and clean power, but it appears with no regard for the North sea; Conservative Members have an ideology of protecting oil and gas in the North sea, while getting rid of climate change targets. The industry does not like either of those positions—not the oil and gas sector, and not the renewables sector—and everybody in the Chamber knows that. Those sectors need each other to survive, and they need the skills to transition from one to the other. If we lose skills in the oil and gas sector, we will not develop the renewables sector as quickly as we need to, and those are the facts of the situation. If those skills and jobs are lost, or disappear into other places around the world, such as the Caspian sea or the Gulf of Mexico, they will not easily be brought back.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

The hon. Gentleman talks about the North sea industry and ideology. What were his views when his Government were in coalition with the Green party, which wilfully wanted to destroy those jobs immediately overnight because of ideology? Did he support that Government coalition?

[Graham Leadbitter]

I supported the coalition at the time because we were gaining plenty of other benefits from it, but I concede that I was not 100% supportive of its position on oil and gas. I suggest that under the current SNP leadership, there is a balanced view of the North sea, and a pragmatic approach to protecting jobs in its oil and gas sectors, while still driving towards renewable jobs and the reindustrialisation of Scotland through the diversification into renewables that we need, recognising that oil and gas will be needed for decades to come.

Heating Oil Support

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

No one should have to face the kind of situation that the hon. Lady has just described, which is why we are coming forward today with support. That additional funding will be available through the crisis and resilience fund from 1 April. However, as I said in response to an earlier question, constituents can already go to their local authority, and we are giving clear guidance to local authorities on the support that they can offer today, and we are expanding some of the guidelines for the existing funds to make it clear that they can provide support for people on heating oil and LPG. On the hon. Lady’s latter point on regulation, as I have said, the CMA is investigating this. There are clearly issues in the heating oil market, as we can see in what has happened over the past couple of weeks. That is why we have asked the CMA to look at that. It has agreed and we will study its conclusions and come forward if necessary with regulation.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his statement and for the very quick action taken by this Government. He mentioned his hope that the Scottish Government will act as quickly as this Government have to pass on these savings to people who use heating oil. Will he ensure that we get more than just hope, as we want an assurance that the SNP Government will not fail my constituents, as they have done so many times before? Will he keep up the pressure on the SNP to deliver what it should be delivering for my constituents and others?

[Martin McCluskey]

I know that my hon. Friend would possibly share some of my concerns, which is why I have been so clear today that the Scottish Government should move at pace to ensure they can provide the same level of assurance to people across the country today that we are, and that support is on the way and that from 1 April people will be able to apply to those funds. Some £4.6 million is being provided to the Scottish Government for this action, and we would want to ensure that every single penny of that reaches the people who need it.

Energy Markets

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I agree with the hon. Lady on her fundamental point about why we are exposed. Cost of living support is obviously a matter for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, but I reiterate to her that the Chancellor showed a willingness to act on these issues in the Budget because she recognised the pressures that families are facing, and that the cost of living crisis is by far the biggest issue facing our country. At Prime Minister’s questions, the Prime Minister again reiterated that we are carefully monitoring the situation. The Government have shown their willingness to intervene, and if necessary, we will intervene again.

On the wider points that the hon. Lady makes, the most important thing to emphasise is that we have to go back to the fundamentals. That means driving forward with clean power and the insulation of homes. Our European counterparts, whom she asked about, face similar challenges. Through the International Energy Agency, we are all engaged on some of the issues around oil stocks that I raised in my statement. She is absolutely right that co-operation with our European colleagues is particularly vital at this time.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his very clear and measured statement. May I ask him about two points? First, if we see rises in bills in forthcoming months, can we ensure that the blame is placed firmly where it should be—on the actions of the Iranian Government in attacking and threatening the strait of Hormuz?

Secondly, in the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee meeting yesterday, we heard from the chief executive of Ofgem that a prolonged period of closure of the strait of Hormuz would create an upward pressure on prices. He indicated during that evidence session that the market anticipated that it could manage a period of roughly two weeks. As the conflict continues to develop, does the Secretary of State have any sense of what might be meant by a “prolonged period of time” that would create upward pressure? Will he ensure that the Committee and the House are kept informed?

Offshore Wind

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

No, I do not agree. The hon. Gentleman, in all seriousness, should look at the need to build new energy generation in this country—we are going to have a 50% rise in electricity demand by 2035, and we have to build something. If he wants to build a whole fleet of new gas-fired power stations, he can decide to do that, but the figures we have published today show the costs of that, and those power stations would be more expensive to build and operate than the offshore wind that we have announced today.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

I welcome the Secretary of State’s statement. In particular, the Government are delivering for Scotland once again with more renewable energy investment. He also talked, rightly, about Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine and why they have had a direct impact on ordinary people in this country, who we must protect now and in the future. We must protect both these new projects and existing infrastructure from outside attacks, so can the Secretary of State say a little bit more about how he is ensuring that as much as possible of the technology for these excellent projects will be made in the UK, and how he will protect them, as well as existing infrastructure, from foreign actors?

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to improve grid infrastructure.

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

We are building a resilient grid for the future after decades of under-investment. We are halving the development time for new transmission infrastructure, including through reforms to planning regulation and supply chains, and delivering the grid capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030 and the economic growth that this country needs.

[Graeme Downie]

In January, when Storm Éowyn hit the UK, hundreds of thousands of people across Scotland were without power for several days. That included thousands of my constituents, in rural villages such as Oakley and Blairhall, and a number were reliant on power for critical medical equipment. Engineers performed heroic work to restore power as quickly as possible, but that was delayed by outdated grid infrastructure. As the new winter storm season has already begun this year, what steps are the Minister and the Department taking to ensure the future reliance of the grid to withstand worsening storms? How can that be done to protect vulnerable people in my constituency and across the UK?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend asks an incredibly important question. First, I would like to thank all the engineers and customer service staff who worked through the recent Storm Amy to ensure that people were reconnected as quickly as possible, including in some incredibly difficult circumstances—they did a fantastic job. We are trying to ensure that the UK’s grid remains as resilient as possible. That requires investment, and those who oppose the building of new infrastructure to improve our grid’s resilience will need to explain to their constituents why they want them to be much more at risk of disconnections in those storms.

Secondly, these storms are becoming more common, because climate change is impacting all our lives. The answer is to move more quickly towards clean power and to recognise that climate change is a problem, not to bury our heads in the sand and fail to deliver the necessary investment.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

The hon. Gentleman makes a very important point about the role that local community energy can play; I think that is what he is alluding to. We are committed to ensuring that. Great British Energy local has already made some announcements in this space, including on local energy funding in England. We will have much more to say in due course, but we want to ensure a partnership, so if the hon. Gentleman writes to me, I will make sure that what he says gets to GB Energy.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

The Scottish National party celebrated the closure and demolition of Longannet coal power station in my constituency without having a plan for its future. The former First Minister pressed the button on the charges herself. What conversations do Ministers plan to have with the site owner, Scottish Power, about the future of the site, and what role might there be for the UK Government in bringing investment and jobs to my constituency?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right to make the point about Longannet. We have conversations with Scottish Power on a number of issues, including this. He again emphasises the important role that nuclear could play in Scotland in the future. It could obviously be an important site for a range of uses, but if the ideological ban on nuclear by the SNP were lifted, we could look at other opportunities for such sites.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Downie Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney) (Lab)]

2. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme on the living standards of recipients.

[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

4. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme on the living standards of recipients.

[Jacob Collier (Burton and Uttoxeter) (Lab)]

6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the mineworkers’ pension scheme on the living standards of recipients.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ed Miliband]

My hon. Friend makes his point with customary eloquence. I know from personal experience that there were people who were waiting for the injustice to be remedied but unfortunately died before that happened. He refers to part of the issue raised by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, as it then was, about 50:50 surplus sharing. I know my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry is looking at that.

[Graeme Downie]

Correcting the injustice in the mineworkers’ pension scheme has made an incredible difference to the former miners in my constituency of Dunfermline and Dollar after so many years. At the weekend, I met representatives from the BCSSS in Fife, including the men and women who are particularly affected by that scheme and the women who worked in the canteens and other areas, who feel that they have been left behind by the changes to the MPS. Will the Secretary of State meet campaigners in Fife and across Scotland regarding this issue, and will he ensure that he makes progress as quickly as possible to correct the injustice that those people have suffered as well?

[Ed Miliband]

I know from my constituency that there is a strong feeling about the BCSSS. That is why my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry has moved at speed to meet the trustees. The schemes are not exactly the same in some of their arrangements, but my hon. Friend the Member for Dunfermline and (Graeme Downie) is right to say that there is certainly a read-across from some of the injustices in the MPS, and I know that the Minister for Industry is looking at that.