“The truth is that at the moment, the whole green thing, the net nero thing, is switching working class communities off. People are not buying it.”
His comments come ahead of a decision on Labour’s plans for the North Sea after the government proposed a ban on new oil drilling licenses.
But Smith urged Labour not to “fudge” the policy, warning that its approach was already costing the party support ahead of crunch Scottish Parliament elections next year.
“If they don’t listen to us, they’re going to face some harsh realities,” the union boss warned.
The GMB general secretary also hit out at plans to increase the use of electric heating options as “just rubbish,” adding they would not be possible to roll out on a large scale. And ministers, he argued, were still “misunderstanding” the prospect of the alternative fuel approach being an effective way to reduce the U.K.’s reliance on gas.
“I’m pragmatic and a realist. We’re going to need oil and gas for a long time to come. This nonsense that we’re moving to electric heat anytime soon is rubbish,” he said. “The number of people connecting to the gas grid is going up. The AI data centers are going to need gas for energy. That’s the truth.”