Union boss turns on Labour over ban on fracking

A LEADING union has savaged Scottish Labour’s posturing on fracking after the party was attacked by energy giant Ineos.

The GMB said the party cannot be taken seriously if it continues to stand in the way of jobs and cheaper energy bills, which supporters of underground drilling insist would be delivered.

A Labour-led Left-wing alliance won a dramatic fracking ban vote at Holyrood earlier this month, combining with Greens and Lib Dems to defeat the Tories, while the SNP abstained.

In an open letter on Tuesday, the chemicals firm Ineos, which wants to frack in Scotland, warned opposition was threatening energy security.

Gary Smith, Scotland secretary of the GMB union, seized on those comments. He said: ‘This sobering intervention from the industry is one that Scottish Labour would do well to take on board because the idea that we can heat our homes or run our industries without fossil fuels any time soon is a nonsense.

‘Gas is around four times cheaper than electricity, it helps heat 78 per cent of homes in Scotland and I doubt any political party with ambitions of government would go to the electorate on a manifesto that proposes a fourfold increase on their bills.

‘Abandoning a balanced energy strategy will mean importing more gas from questionable regimes who have no regard whatsoever for human rights or the environment, never mind tackling fuel poverty or redistributing wealth in the form of job creation.

‘It’s time the party of labour got real again on Scotland’s energy future.’

The Tories are the only party in the Scottish parliament who believe fracking should be properly considered, although the SNP’s own advisers have said it can be done safely.

Murdo Fraser, Scottish Tory finance spokesman, said: ‘It is not just me who thinks Scottish Labour has lost the plot. If even their friends, even their comrades in the trade union movement, are saying these things about them, it really is time for them to sort themselves out.

‘If they want to be taken seriously on the economy and other issues, they need to make up their mind as to whether they are for or against the oil and gas industry.’

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: ‘Our position on fracking is very clear – no fracking in Scotland. To meet our climate change goals we need to develop low-carbon sources of energy, not new fossil fuels.’