Inverness shows Labour is sabotaging jobs for Scotland

by the SNP
Posted on
2 hours ago
3 min read

When it comes to Scottish green energy, the Westminster Labour government’s strategy appears to be simple: if an industrial opportunity raises its head in the Scottish Highlands, flatten it like a leftover pancake.

This month, Labour double-downed on its decision to block a massive £1.5 billion investment from green energy giant Ming Yang to construct the UK’s largest wind turbine factory in the Highlands of Scotland.

That single decision wiped out the very real prospect of 1,500 high-skilled green jobs in one fell swoop, leaving Scottish industry and local communities completely blindsided.

To add insult to injury, the developers weren’t even given the courtesy of a heads-up before the door was slammed shut in their faces. Westminster treated a £1.5bn industrial boom like an uninvited double-glazing salesperson, leaving it standing on the porch in the rain.

Yet, if you cross the border into England, the Westminster Labour government’s attitude toward Chinese-backed investment undergoes a miraculous, head-spinning transformation.

While Scotland gets the cold shoulder, Westminster has been rolling out the red carpet and flinging open the velvet ropes for Chinese-backed megaprojects south of the border.

If you’re asking where Westminster suddenly finds its appetite for Chinese capital, you don’t have to look far. The list of English projects waved through includes:

In short: when Chinese capital wants to bankroll critical English infrastructure, Westminster Labour behaves like an overly eager maitre d’ pulling out a chair.

But when that exact same investment tries to build 1,500 wind turbine jobs in the Scottish Highlands? Suddenly Labour turns into an overzealous bouncer on a Friday night, checking IDs, squinting at the dress code, and refusing entry on principle.

This isn’t just double standards; it’s a coordinated wrecking ball swung directly at Scotland’s industrial future.

By blocking the world’s largest wind turbine factory, Labour has combined with its punitive energy supertax to launch a devastating two-pronged attack on Scottish jobs. Between destroying 1,000 jobs a month in the oil and gas sector, sitting idly by as the Grangemouth refinery was shut down, allowing Mossmorran to close, and choking renewable developers with crippling grid transmission charges, Labour’s energy policy for Scotland is about as constructive as a sledgehammer in a glassworks.

And where are Scottish Labour’s leaders while all this happens?

Before decamping to the House of Lords, Anas Sarwar has turned political deflection into a performance art. Faced with tough questions on BBC Radio Scotland, he offered all the substance of a marshmallow in a gale, descending into name-calling rather than explaining why he refuses to question why Highland workers are being punished.

Meanwhile the silence from Scotland’s Labour MPs has been deafening. They’re like a group of Oliver Twists asking for less.

The reality is crystal clear. Westminster views Scottish industry as an afterthought. They are content to let Scotland generate clean power for the rest of the UK, but the moment we try to build the actual manufacturing supply chain and reap the high-value jobs here at home, the drawbridge goes up.

Scotland’s energy potential shouldn’t be at the mercy of Westminster politics or Labour’s bizarre regional double standards. With independence, we can put Scotland’s energy back in Scotland’s hands – building a wealthier, fairer, and greener economy that creates jobs right here, rather than watching them get handed away across the border.