Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
SNP MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast Stewart Stevenson has raised the ‘disgraceful’ decision by the UK Government to pull a £1 billion grant from a vital new carbon capture and storage development project at First Minister’s Questions today.
In response, the First Minister made clear her opposition to the decision – and noted that the UK Government had not consulted with the Scottish Government on the issue, despite the decision directly affecting Scotland.
Commenting, Mr Stevenson said:
“It is deeply concerning that the UK Government has backtracked on this crucial investment at the eleventh hour, especially given the upcoming Paris climate talks. Not only will this decision prevent vital investment in the North East and kill off the prospect of 600 jobs, but it will directly hinder our efforts to cut emissions.
“The fact that the Scottish Government was not consulted on this issue despite the clear and direct impact on Scotland is simply unacceptable – and flies in the face of the ‘respect agenda’ which David Cameron promised when he came to office.
“This UK Government’s track record on Scotland’s energy industry is nothing short of appalling – on Longannet, North Sea exploration, support for onshore wind, delays to offshore wind, George Osborne has taken decisions which are directly contradictory to the Scottish national interest. And this is just the latest decision which demonstrates how little the Tories care about Scotland’s energy sector.
“This is a huge missed opportunity to champion new technologies that will cut carbon emissions at the same time as creating jobs in the North East – and the fact that the Tories have put their obsession with austerity ahead of this vital programme shows that they are simply incapable of representing Scotland’s interests.”
“The fact that the Scottish Government was not consulted on this issue despite the clear and direct impact on Scotland is simply unacceptable – and flies in the face of the ‘respect agenda’ which David Cameron promised when he came to office.
“This UK Government’s track record on Scotland’s energy industry is nothing short of appalling – on Longannet, North Sea exploration, support for onshore wind, delays to offshore wind, George Osborne has taken decisions which are directly contradictory to the Scottish national interest. And this is just the latest decision which demonstrates how little the Tories care about Scotland’s energy sector.
“This is a huge missed opportunity to champion new technologies that will cut carbon emissions at the same time as creating jobs in the North East – and the fact that the Tories have put their obsession with austerity ahead of this vital programme shows that they are simply incapable of representing Scotland’s interests.”
