Yousaf calls for Labour talks on renewables ahead of election

Scotland’s First Minister has called for talks with Labour ahead of a general election on the renewable sector north of the border.

There will be a change of government in 2024, Humza Yousaf said, opening the door for Sir Keir Starmer and Labour’s energy spokesman Ed Miliband to work with the Scottish Government before the party wins the keys to Downing Street.

An election is due to take place this year, with the Prime Minister saying he favours the second half of the year.

Speaking to the Chamber Talk podcast, produced by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, the First Minister said: “There’s going to be a change of Government in 2024, of that I have no doubt in the slightest.

“My offer to Keir Starmer, to Ed Miliband – who drives their energy policy – is come and speak to us in advance of a general election.

“Let’s work together so that we can unleash the potential of Scotland’s renewables sector, and that’s got to be a just transition.

“Let’s do that in a way that gives investors the confidence they need to invest now in Scotland and that investment. We’ll see a great economic return for that in the years and decades to come.”

The First Minister also stood by the Government’s draft energy strategy, which was released before he took office, where a presumption against new oil and gas fields was adopted.

The cabinet he appointed, Mr Yousaf said, spoke with “one voice” on the issue.

But he stressed plans for a £20 billion fund financed by oil and gas revenues would not mean “going back on licences” already approved and nor would it mean there could never be any more exploration or extraction of hydrocarbons.