Former MP for Banff and Buchan (June 2017 - July 2024)
Scotland, United Kingdom
Joined April 2017
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My interview with @mattforde, first released on 25 November, talking mainly about my #spinalstroke #spinalcordinjury and recovery earlier this year, and a little bit of what’s been happening since
podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcas…
The latest on @AcornProject_UK and the effect of this week’s Budget! Apparently the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, @EmmaforWycombe, has been described as ‘unhelpful’ in her assertion on Thursday that the £200 million WAS still available as grant funding.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of this situation, nobody can argue that the comms around this have not been abysmal!
Even by @JohnSwinney’s own measure, the answer is 1. Yes and 2. Yes!
It isn't difficult John.
If you want to support jobs, back Rosebank.
If you want to grow the economy, back Rosebank.
If you want revenue for public services, back Rosebank.
If you want to reduce the need for Russian oil in the world, back Rosebank.
Whether it is Labour in London, or the SNP in Edinburgh, both need to make up their mind.
Only the @Conservatives have a plan to support jobs, grow the economy, and get Britain drilling.
thetimes.com/uk/scotland/art…
This has gone too far beyond whether or not @AcornProject_UK is getting UK Government funding or not.
This has been a complete and utter communications fiasco.
Yesterday, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, @EmmaforWycombe said, “We are honouring the £200 million that was announced earlier this year, we know how important this project is to Scotland’s industrial future.”
She continued: “This Acorn project and other projects in Scotland are critical to not just Scotland, but the UK’s industrial future and our plans to reindustrialise the country.
“We allocated that money and we stand by that commitment.
“There hasn’t been a cut to the £200 million, I can reassure you that that commitment stands.
“That is the grant funding, but there could well be loans or equity stakes taken, because we will need probably additional funding to secure the future of this projects.
“We’re not cutting the grant funding and we will probably need to look at some sort of financial transactions to secure the rest of the project.”
There are still some glaring inconsistencies here (is the WHOLE £200 million grant-funded or not?) but at least, in this interview, she is generally positive about the Scottish #carboncapture project.
However, on the afternoon of the budget - before poor attempts to polish up the comms, Mrs Reynolds explained to the BBC that “certain projects in hydrogen and carbon capture and storage that will now not be able to go ahead.”
In response to @RussellFindlay1 and @michaeljmarra, @JohnSwinney, was right to push back on this being a simple Yes/No answer.
The answer is actually…
1. Yes
2. Yes
#Rosebank
John Swinney asked 7 times if he backs Rosebank oil – so is it yes or no? ift.tt/rvGlsOd
@DavidLinden absolutely right with this line of questioning to @mgshanks on last night’s @bbcdebatenight.
Shanks attempting a blatant bluff that the £200 million for @AcornProject_UK is ‘still there’, and even explaining that (instead of being grant funded as previously promised), it would need to be paid back or exchanged for UK Government ownership of the project.
This might be seen as an entirely sensible approach to ongoing funding of #CCUS, but then why not apply the same approach to the other three Track-1 and Track-2 clusters?
Oh and Shanks also tries to describe Acorn as a project for removing emissions from the Central Belt, ignoring the crucial role it has to play in supporting the proposed NEW CCS Gas Power Plant in #Peterhead.
Linden then lets himself down* (and, to some extent Shanks off the hook), by banging on about ‘green lights’).
(*but not nearly as much as he did shamefully in response to a later question about immigration, referring to an audience member as racist!)
There’s no version of the second half of this century without continued (albeit reduced) #oilandgas demand here in the UK. There is certainly no version of #NetZero (2050 or otherwise) without #CarbonCapture. And there will be no #EnergySecurity in #Scotland without a NEW #naturalgas powered station in Peterhead.
The UK Government needs to be consistent with its funding approach across ALL track-1 and track-2 clusters. And the SNP needs to stop using Acorn as a political point-scoring football.
The actual wording from the ‘red book’ regarding the ‘re prioritisation’ of funding for @AcornProject_UK
It was a genuine privilege to join the 300 or so guests at Friday’s memorial service for the late @Sirianwood KT GBE.
I met Sir Ian several times during my time as MP for #BanffAndBuchan, including when I was a UK Government Minister in the Scotland Office.
A common theme raised in yesterday’s celebration of Sir Ian’s life, along with his incredible work-ethic, commitment to Aberdeen and the North East’s industries, communities, education and charities, was his ability to encourage and challenge in equal measure.
My first experience of his great influence, was in his review of the last big UK #oilandgas industry, culminating in the now famous ‘Wood Report’ of 2014.
This widely respected report led to the UK Government setting up a new regulator, committed to ‘maximise economic recovery’ of UK oil and gas. (Still refered to in legislation as the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) but rebranded in recent years as @NSTAuthority)
I was glad to speak directly with Lady Helen Wood and offer her my condolences to her and the wider family.
It was also a great opportunity to catch up with so many other people from the region - particularly those involved in the energy sector - for whom Sir Ian was of great influence and inspiration.
Was a genuine privilege to join the 300 or so guests at yesterday’s memorial service for the late Sir Ian Wood KT GBE.
I met Sir Ian several times during my time as MP for #BanffAndBuchan, including when I was a UK Government Minister in the Scotland Office.
A common theme raised in yesterday’s celebration of Sir Ian’s life, along with his incredible work-ethic, commitment to Aberdeen and the North East’s industries, communities, education and charities, was his ability to encourage and challenge in equal measure.
My first experience of his great influence, was in his review of the last big UK #oilandgas industry, culminating in the now famous ‘Wood Report’ of 2014.
This widely respected report led to the UK Government setting up a new regulator, committed to ‘maximise economic recovery’ of UK oil and gas.
I was glad to speak directly with Lady Helen Wood and offer her my condolences.
It was also a great opportunity to catch up with so many other people from the region - particularly those involved in the energy sector - for whom Sir Ian was of great influence and inspiration.
Just starting a game of scrabble. Given how long it took for #Jackdaw, this SHOULD be a word!
#BringOnRosebank
Worrying, but sadly not surprising.
🚨Sneaked out by OFGEM this morning, a warning for the first time EVER they cannot guarantee that demand will be met on a peak day in winter.
Let’s be clear what that means. They cannot guarantee that homes will be warm, lights come on or industry function on a peak day this winter.
And why? Because of an accelerated decline in domestic gas supply from the North Sea.
So what is the solution? For British bill payers to pay more, to IMPORT more from Europe (specifically Belgium) to keep the lights on in Britain.
Britain. A country with vast supplies of gas, untapped, deliberately due to Labour policy now going cap in hand to Europe and paying vast sums to import foreign gas.
It is utterly outrageous. You couldn’t make it up.
ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/f…
I’ve picked one of these comments at complete random, with some commonly held misperceptions to which I’d like to respond to quickly…
“the gas will be sold on the international market”
Every molecule of #naturalgas from #Jackdaw, the rest of the #NorthSea, #UKCS, enters the UK grid.
Prices are set by the market, and can vary a lot depending on demand and network availability/stability but that is just a part of what makes up our gas bills.
But it IS absolutely correct to state that Jackdaw gas WILL supply British homes and business (at least!).
“ONLY” 27 jobs!?
I’d say that is pretty good for an UNMANNED installation!
There are also 273 jobs identified as being ‘safeguarded’ directly by this decision. There are also hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs that will continue to be supported in the wider supply chain.
But this IS just the beginning. We need #Rosebank AND more. Such decisions will serve to support and sustain exisiting jobs and supply chains as well as creating new ones.
Skills and technologies will also continue to be developed and sustained, not only to help ensure our #EnergySecurity, but also - along with the increased BILLIONS in tax revenue - support the ongoing #EnergyTransition.
The real question is why did they take so long to make a decision - on precisely the same rational it seems - which was made 3-4 years earlier by the @Conservatives Government?
Finally!
“#Jackdaw will start to supply gas to British homes and businesses from the end of this month, after the Energy Secretary agreed that the regulator can grant consent for gas to be produced at the field.
“The Jackdaw decision is expected to increase domestic gas production by around 6% at its peak – supporting the UK’s gas supply over its lifespan of up to 11 years, boosting our energy security, protecting hundreds of jobs and adding an estimated £2.9 billion to the UK economy.”
Now #Rosebank please? And then the rest! Let’s keep producing our own #oilandgas for as long as we continue to need it!
gov.uk/government/news/jackd…
“governments, regulators and owners of the system have indulged a decade of wishful thinking and under-investment, pretending they know how to pull off a radical energy transition when they have devoted appallingly little forethought, planning and money to the question.”
Excellent article by @CitySamuel at @thetimes on @neso_energy's challenges in running the grid
She quotes Andrew Larkins, an energy consultant and former Ofgem adviser, saying: “They’re at risk of normalising something that’s meant to be part of an emergency system… It shows how hard they’re having to work to keep the lights on.”
Juliet points out the lack of transparency at NESO which limits our ability to understand what's going on, comparing it to Australian system operator @AEMO_Energy which takes a more open approach
She says:
"The broader answer is that governments, regulators and owners of the system have indulged a decade of wishful thinking and under-investment, pretending they know how to pull off a radical energy transition when they have devoted appallingly little forethought, planning and money to the question.
The electricity grid used to run off a hundred or so fossil fuel generators, which can be turned up and down on request and are mechanically stable because they spin big, heavy rotors. Demand also tended to follow a pattern. This made balancing power supply and demand fairly straightforward.
Now, large portions of our power (some days, all of it) come from a mix of undersea cables, renewables plants and batteries, all of which can abruptly and unpredictably turn off and on. Small units, such as rooftop solar, don’t even send data to the grid. Customers are using new, variable gadgets like smart meters and electric cars. Forecasting and responding to changes has become, to be technical, a total bloody nightmare. “We can’t see how much reserve we have,” says the engineer."
She concludes:
"Governments, regulators, operators and owners have all conspired in the delusion that everything is fine and we can keep going at breakneck speed to “clean power 2030”. But the strain is showing and the engineers won’t pretend any more. You can’t run an electricity grid on a news grid."
Of course, her column was written before today's issues - frequency going outside both the lower and upper operational frequency bounds and lots of within day interconnector trades against the market direction, violating the trading limits affecting large parts of the day
NESO's insistence that there's "nothing to see here" is wearing very thin indeed
#EnergySecurity
@Miatsf @mgshanks @AndrewBowie_MP @ClaireCoutinho @HarrietCross_MP @ColinMoynihanUK @drlukeevans @Ashley7Fox @TiceRichard @cmackinlay @mattwridley @Iromg @AllisonPearson @MerrynSW @EdConwaySky @afneil @mattotele @Jonathan__Leake @energygovuk @ofgem
thetimes.com/comment/columni…
Great to hear ‘Baroness Campbell Mark II’ (her own words), making use of new technology to continue speaking up for #disabledrights
Even without this new tech, her voice was a powerful one for concerns of the disabled in recent #AssistedDying debates.
Wonderful to hear Baroness Campbell's AI-created voice @UKHouseofLords for the first time; a first for @UKParliament & among the first in any legislature worldwide.
More than a tech milestone, it's very much HER voice, a powerful one for a leading disability rights campaigner📣
#NorthSea #OilAndGas can help plug £35bn budget black hole.
“With a real risk of the lights going out and domestic supply chains being disrupted by fuel shortages this winter, we have a remarkable commitment from the UK oil and gas sector that 111 additional projects could proceed at pace with more pragmatic regulatory policy and a more competitive tax regime from 2027.
“As well as protecting thousands of jobs and supporting security of supply, this would unlock £50billion of private investment and more than £15billion of tax revenues in this parliament.
"That equals almost half of the £35billion black hole being faced by the Chancellor, money which the Burnham administration can reinvest in its programme priorities whether this be defence, prison reform or easing cost of living challenges for those that need it."
agcc.co.uk/news-article/nort…
#Jackdaw #Rosebank
#EnergySecurity
