WORKERS in the North East are going to be “very worried” about Labour’s “naive” calls for an oil and gas ban, the leader of the GMB has warned. 

Gary Smith said the policy to block all new licenses would create a “cliff edge” for the industry.

According to reports last weekend, Sir Keir Starmer will announce the plan later this month when he outlines his “national mission” to cut the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels. 

Instead, the party would rely solely on existing oil and gas wells over the coming decades and “manage them sustainably as we transform the UK into a clean energy superpower.”

READ MORE: Keir Starmer oil and gas ban plan blasted by sector and unions

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Mr Smith said this was shortsighted: “There is a lot of oil and gas in the North Sea and the alternatives facing the country are that we either produce our own oil and gas – take responsibility for our carbon emissions – or we are going to import more oil and gas.

“I think workers in the petrochemical industry… are going to be very worried about what Labour are saying and I think it is time for Labour to focus on the right thing rather than what they think is the popular thing.”

He said that the sector had been promised “tens of thousands of jobs” in renewable energy “time and time again” but that they “simply have not emerged”, adding: “That has been the sorry state of the renewables industry around the country.”

Mr Smith said there was a “lack of intellectual rigour” behind the plans.

“I think Labour have been naive,” he added. 

“They’re just focusing on what they think is popular rather than doing the proper thinking to understand what is right for the country,” he added.

READ MORE: Scottish Labour back Starmer's oil and gas ban despite union concern

Earlier this week, it emerged that despite Scottish Labour backing the plan, members of the MSP group were split. 

Pauline McNeill and Michael Marra reportedly raised concerns. 

A party insider told the Daily Record: “We can’t afford to be out of touch with communities in the North East of Scotland, or playing reckless games with 70,000 jobs.

“Until there is a credible pathway to net zero, we will rely on current levels of production for decades to come. That’s the reality Keir Starmer and Ed Miliband must understand if they are serious about Scotland.”

Shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds defended the proposals. He told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “We will see in the North Sea existing oil and gas fields continue to produce well up until 2050 for the 28,000 directly employed people in that sector, they’ll continue to work in that sector.

“But the big opportunity comes from the transition and we don’t think further new oil and gas fields are the answer.

"First of all because they won’t do anything for bills, they won’t do anything for our energy security, they cost a lot of public subsidy, they clearly will be a climate disaster, but also there are better alternatives available.”

Mr Reynolds said there is a need to be “embracing that change”, which includes renewables and green steel, adding: “The number of jobs that will be created by that is far in excess of the jobs currently there.”