Labour Neglect Scotland as Ā£22bn Gifted to English Projects
The SNP has branded Labour ācluelessā as it emerged the Scottish Acorn Carbon project was once again snubbed for funding in favour of English sites.Ā
In 2021, the Acorn project, situated at St Fergus near Peterhead, was snubbed in the Track 1 stage of funding forĀ carbonĀ capture sites and was instead given ‘reserve status’.
This followed a previous funding snub in 2015, when the Tories withdrew Ā£1 billion from Peterhead despite promising the investment ahead of the 2014 independence referendum.
In July 2023, then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited the site and pledged support to the project, but little has moved forward since.
Now, the Labour Government has confirmed Ā£22bn for two carbon capture sites in England, with the Scottish Cluster left hanging in the balance again.
UK Government backing for this project in the North East of Scotland – energy hub of the UK – has been awaited for years, but now it has been rebuffed yet again by the new Labour administration.
GRAEME
It is a perfect example of why decisions taken at Westminster will never prioritise Scotland’s interests.
Investment in this Acorn project should so clearly be a top priority for any UK government serious about net zero, a just transition, and developing a domestic supply chain with the associated job creation.
As the Scottish cluster is now left with no certainty at all, Labour seem set on repeating the grave error of judgement seen with Grangemouth where failure on directing energy transition investment is concerned.