Only 13 jobs have been created in Aberdeen since Labour’s flagship GB Energy headquarters was announced at last year’s party conference, sparking claims the government is “failing the North East” just days before this year’s Labour gathering.
The figure revealed in official data shared with The National shows that just 18% of GB Energy’s workforce is based in Aberdeen, despite Labour pledging to make the city the hub of the new publicly owned green energy company.
By contrast, 45% of GB Energy staff, 31 people are currently employed in London.
The figures come one year after Sir Keir Starmer stood on stage at Labour conference and pledged to launch GB Energy with its headquarters in Aberdeen, promising to deliver “thousands of jobs” as part of a clean energy revolution.
In May 2024, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar went further, claiming the party’s energy policy would create 70,000 new jobs in Scotland alone.
However, just 69 jobs have been created by GB Energy to date, a figure dwarfed by the number of energy roles lost across the North Sea sector over the past year.
SNP Energy spokesperson Graham Leadbitter MP accused Labour of betraying its promises.
“Exactly one year on from their much-paraded Aberdeen HQ pledge, just 13 jobs have materialised,” he said.
“Far from creating 70,000 jobs, we’ve seen thousands lost and even GB Energy boss Juergen Maier is warning that the North East is haemorrhaging roles.”
Industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) recently warned the UK is losing nearly 1,000 energy jobs per month, with the North Sea Transition Authority downgrading its long-term output forecast by almost one billion barrels of oil equivalent.
OEUK estimates the economic impact of that downgrade at more than £50 billion.
“The Labour Government stood by while workers at Grangemouth were handed redundancy notices, all while funding flowed to save refineries and steelworks in England,” Leadbitter added.
“For too long, Westminster has treated Scotland’s energy sector as a cash cow to be drained, rather than a national asset to be protected.”
The SNP argues that Scotland’s renewable and offshore resources are being mismanaged by UK policy decisions, and that only independence can offer the sector long-term stability.
As Labour prepares to gather for its 2025 conference, opposition parties are calling on the government to explain why the flagship GB Energy project has delivered so few jobs in the very city where it was promised to make its home.
