A Labour plan to halt new oil and gas developments in the North Sea risks "strangling" the UK energy sector, a trade union chief has warned.
Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB, said reducing domestic production would leave the country more reliant on imports from the Middle East and Russia.
The union, a major donor to Labour, pledged to "face down" the proposals.
Keir Starmer is expected to use a visit to Scotland next month to set out his party's net zero agenda which will include a commitment to ending new developments.
But Smith said there was a “national security imperative” to keep the North Sea industry alive given the country will keep using those fuels for decades even under its “Net Zero 2050” target.
“There’s no point strangling the industry. We need to work with the industry to encourage investment in the green technologies of the future," Smith told the Financial Times.
“It would be self-defeating not to maximise extraction from our own oil and gas, and that’s going to be a difficult debate but it’s one we’ll have to face down."
“There’s ethics involved - are we going to keep funding these regimes in the Middle East and the likes of Russia, or do we take responsibility for our own carbon and create jobs and investment here?”
A Labour source told the Sunday Times: “We are against the granting of new licences for oil and gas in the North Sea.
“They will do nothing to cut bills, as the Tories have acknowledged.
“They undermine our energy security and would drive a coach and horse through our climate targets.
“But Labour would continue to use existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and manage them sustainably as we transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”
In its draft energy strategy published in January, the Scottish Government said there “should be a presumption against new exploration for oil and gas”, as it proposed making the “fastest possible just transition”.
But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has backed new oil and gas exploration, and energy licences are under Westminster’s control.
Energy secretary Grant Shapps accused Labour of strengthening Russian President Vladimir Putin’s campaign to use energy as a weapon against the West with its plans.
He said: “In the midst of high energy prices for families, Labour’s ideological vendetta against British energy independence not only risks hundreds of thousands of jobs but strengthens Putin’s campaign to use energy as a weapon against the west.
“The Conservatives are taking a pragmatic approach supporting sectors that have enabled us to end our reliance on Russian oil and gas, while investing in the clean technologies we need for the future.”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here .
