KEMI Badenoch’s call for an end to the windfall tax for fossil fuel firms and a ban on new oil and gas licences has been branded “out of touch”.
The Conservative leader is set to address her first Scottish branch office conference in Edinburgh on Friday and will speak about the oil and gas industry.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay is set to address the party conference for the first time since taking over the role from Douglas Ross.
The energy profits levy, also known as the windfall tax, was brought in by the previous Tory government, and extended by Labour when they took power.
Badenoch is expected to tout the oil and gas sector during her conference speech, accusing the UK Government of “killing” it, claiming “renewing our party and our country means standing up for our oil and gas industry”.
She will add: “When the oil and gas windfall tax, the energy profits levy, was brought in, the oil price was near a historic high, at the exact time as energy bills for the British people were sky-rocketing.
“But there is no longer a windfall to tax. It has long gone. And the longer this regressive tax on one of our most successful industries remains, the more damaging it becomes.
“Labour have extended and increased this tax. They are killing this industry.”
She will add: “So, today, I say enough. Labour must remove the energy profits levy. Labour must speed up the process of replacing it with a system that rewards success and incentivises investment.
“Because we shouldn’t have this energy profits levy at all.
“We must scrap the ban on new licences.
“We must overturn the ban on supporting oil and gas technology exports.
“And we must champion our own industry.
“We must let this great British, great Scottish industry thrive, grow and create jobs – ensuring our energy security for generations to come, driving growth and making this country richer in the process.”
Badenoch will address her first Scottish party conference as leader on Friday while her counterpart north of the border Russell Findlay will deliver his inaugural address on Saturday.
Responding to Badenoch, Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said her comments were “out of touch”, adding: “Even with the windfall tax in place, the energy industry made over £115 billion in profits in 2024 alone.
“Meanwhile, average household energy bills remain hundreds and hundreds of pounds higher than they were before the energy crisis started.
“While the Government is right to be consulting on reform of the windfall tax, maintaining a profits levy could help fund home upgrades and a social tariff which would bring down energy bills for the most vulnerable in society.”
SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said: “The Tories wrecked our economy, presided over soaring household bills and ripped Scotland from the EU against our will.
“And now they’re lurching further to the right as they haemorrhage votes to Nigel Farage.
“This weekend will be an important reminder of how Westminster has failed Scotland. Only the SNP is offering hope and a brighter future as an independent nation.”
Luke Murphy, MP for Basingstoke, and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Climate Change, commented: "Under the previous government, which Kemi Badenoch was a part of, 70,000 jobs were lost from the oil and gas industry, even as hundreds of new licences were handed out.
"The North Sea is a mature basin, and its reserves are in terminal decline. Responsible governance means being honest about that reality — and focusing on creating new opportunities for workers, and supporting them in the transition, rather than pretending we can hold onto the past.
"The workers in oil and gas, and the communities that rely on the industry deserve better. That’s why this Labour government is determined to secure a brighter future through clean energy — with high-quality jobs where people need them most."
