Michael Marra: SNP claims that independence will cut energy bills are 'ludicrous fantasy'

The SNP’s claim that independence would slash energy bill is “ludicrous fantasy”, Labour conference has heard.

Speaking at a fringe event at Paisley Town Hall, Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra rubbished SNP claims that independence would cut “over a third” from household charges.

He said John Swinney’s party was making that claim “without any formula, without any rational analysis whatsoever”. Marra said: “It’s complete and utter garbage. And actually, I hope that academics and others would call them out on it as well.”

The north-east MSP said the SNP is “playing on” the public’s desire to “feel secure”. He said: “Independence is one thing, but to say ‘we’ll cut energy bills by a third’ is utterly ludicrous, and they are printing these things and putting them through people's doors. So we have a question here between making difficult decisions hard, hard choices of planning for the long term and the ludicrous fantasy.”

Marra was speaking as part of a panel organised by Holyrood Events. Featuring Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, OEUK chief executive David Whitehouse, Colin Pritchard of Ineos and Professor Karen Turner, director of the Centre for Energy Policy at the University of Strathclyde, the event focused on the future of offshore energy and reindustrialising Britain.

Alexander said the UK Labour government had inherited an energy system “desperately in need of a strategic approach that had been singularly lacking for many years”, adding that the difference between what former Conservative ministers now say “and what they did is actually broader than the north sea”.

He said the SNP’s “anti-science, dogmatic opposition” to nuclear power is costing investment and jobs.

And he cited Labour action to save the former BiFab yards at Arnish, near Stornoway, and Methil in Fife. He said: “No government, however well-intentioned, can save every job and every facility in every part of the country. What we have a right to expect is an active industrial policy that proactively seeks to manage the natural resources, not least the skills and talents of people here in Scotland.”

However, the Scottish secretary hit out at a lack of an energy sector plan from the Scottish Government, telling the audience: “To say the SNP had a number of policies on energy in recent years would be an understatement, and the reality is they see their political advantage in obscurity and in opacity. They don't want to be open about what their approach is because they seem to have more of a focus on votes than on jobs and on opportunity rather than principle.”

He went on: “The responsible course for any government is to set out a coherent plan, because that's what the workforce deserves, that's what the capital allocators require, and that's what industry needs. And yet again, we've seen a situation where a party that has proved quite adept at campaigning has proved completely rubbish at governing, and to the great detriment of Scotland.”

Turner said too much work on the just transition is being done “after the fact”, despite the fact that there are “many communities in Scotland linked to the energy industry who are highly vulnerable to that”. She said this could lead to a loss of services and infrastructure for places like Shetland where depopulation is “a big challenge”.

Calling for greater collaboration and a simplified and strengthened skills landscape, Whitehouse said the UK has chosen to become “the most deindustrialised country in the industrial world”. He said: “There's going to be times when we need government specific intervention, but for the vast majority of UK industry what we need is a level playing field. Give us energy prices which actually are competitive, give us regulators who genuinely have a growth attitude and a supportive attitude, and have an obligation to engage with us. And I'll tell you what, we have brilliant industries still.”

Responding to the comments, SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said: “For anyone in the Labour Party to question anyone else on energy prices takes some brass neck.

“This is the same Labour Party which promised to slash energy bills by £300 before they rose rise five times under Keir Starmer’s watch – even after this week’s ‘cut’ in the energy price cap, households will still be £400 worse off than they were promised under the Labour Party.

“It’s frankly ludicrous that Scots pay some of the highest energy prices in Europe despite having an abundance of energy on our land and shores. These ignorant remarks just reminds voters of their wilful neglect of Scotland’s energy sector and demonstrates why we need a fresh start with independence so we can use our resources and our expertise to drive down bills for households and businesses.”