Business chiefs demand windfall tax is scrapped THREE YEARS EARLY as 25,000 North Sea jobs lost under Labour

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026.

The North Sea Transition Taskforce warns Britain risks a 'disorderly decline' in its energy sector after 25,000 oil and gas jobs have been lost since Labour came to power. The taskforce, backed by the British Chambers of Commerce, is demanding the energy profits levy be axed in 2027-28 rather than 2030, arguing the move could unlock up to £50 billion in private investment and over £13 billion in tax revenues over the following decade. North Sea producers currently pay a staggering 78 per cent of profits in tax. BP's planned exit from the region after six decades is being cited as stark proof the levy is crushing the industry.

Aberdeen bears the brunt — around one in four workers in the north-east of Scotland is employed in or supports the offshore energy industry.

Taskforce chair Philip Rycroft warns the skilled workers and infrastructure being lost now 'cannot simply be recreated when new industries are ready to expand at scale.'

Energy bills are expected to hit a three-year high this winter, with wholesale gas prices already at their highest since the Russia-Ukraine crisis.