Marie’s column in The Scotsman | Thursday 28th May 2026

John Swinney has secured his own personal mandate as he returns to Bute House after the Holyrood election. As someone who has known the First Minister for many years, I offer him my warmest congratulations.

Mr Swinney has made clear he is relishing the prospect of governing, notwithstanding the many challenges ahead. Far from being a caretaker First Minister, as some assumed, now that he is armed with his own mandate Mr Swinney seems determined to shake things up and pursue a policy agenda that is far from timid.

If that is the case, I welcome it, because Scotland is in desperate need of a shake-up. Our economy continues to flatline, with consistently sluggish growth and with not enough being done to create jobs, opportunity and prosperity.

Action on the cost of living is one thing, but what is really needed is a fundamental shift in gear and mindset which puts achieving sustainable growth for the long-term at the very top of the list of government priorities. That is the only sure way, amid the looming gap in public finances and the clear emphasis on public sector reform, to fund the public services we all need.

I believe the First Minister understands this, and if he can show that he is genuinely committed to that goal then I believe our newly elected Parliament can find real consensus despite the many differences which exist in these deeply polarised times.

However, the Scottish Government simply must grasp the nettle when it comes to North Sea oil and gas, and make clear that it does not stand in the way of using those resources for our own national benefit, both practical and economic.

It makes no sense whatsoever to be importing oil and gas from Norway which is busy, on the other side of the maritime border, pressing ahead with developing new oil and gas fields and granting licences for further exploration.

Just this month, the Norwegian Government has approved the reopening of three mothballed North Sea gas fields which were closed in 1998 but which are now set to come onstream again for the next 20 years, contributing energy supplies to Germany and the UK.  Norway also plans to access 70 blocks identified on the seabed.

The story on this side of the North Sea is a very different one. The Scottish Government’s move away from oil and gas began around a decade ago, and early signals to that effect were evident in the work of the Sustainable Growth Commission, the body set up to provide recommendations on economic policy for an independent Scotland.

I stood down from the Commission in 2017 because, even at that early phase, I was concerned about the extent to which it was clear Scotland’s oil and gas assets were being sidelined.

Let me be clear – I support investment in Scotland and the UK’s renewable energy potential as part of the move to a sustainable, green energy future.

But the drive to Net Zero cannot become a headlong rush that fails to deliver on the promised green jobs boom whilst casting thousands of workers onto the employment scrapheap in a way that echoes deindustrialisation of previous decades.

Bluntly, we have not done nearly enough to move at pace to develop renewables, and for as long as that is the case we need to continue developing the oil and gas off our shores.

Other countries take energy independence as a given. Whether it is Norway or the United States, which has made clear that a reliable domestic energy supply is essential to its national and economic security, nations around the globe understand the importance of utilising their own resources.

We should support the growth of renewables, but until we see that happening at pace and scaled up to a point at which the thousands of green jobs which have long been promised actually become a reality, oil and gas must not be abandoned.

So, while the granting of new offshore licences is not something that Holyrood can control for as long as energy remains reserved to Westminster, there is political opportunity here too for the Swinney government.

It’s clear that the current UK Government, and any of those likely to replace Keir Starmer in Downing Street, are not on the side of the offshore industry. So, the Scottish Government should make the case that if Westminster is set on turning its back on North Sea oil and gas and the sector’s workforce, Scotland won’t.

Stepehen Flynn, the former SNP leader at Westminster, said upon his election to Holyrood that the oil and gas industry would have “no greater champion” than him – that should be a mantra for the government Mr Flynn is now a part of as Economy Secretary. The arrival of another former MP, Stephen Gethins, as Energy Minister, is also significant, especially as climate and Net Zero responsibilities have been split from the energy brief.

What could better demonstrate the need for Scotland taking control of its own energy resources than a UK Westminster government which fails to stand up for an industry that has contributed countless billions of pounds in revenue over the last few decades.

So, as well as making the case for North Sea oil and gas, the re-elected Scottish Government should propose an energy regulator which works in Scotland’s national interests, reducing costs to households and to businesses.

If Westminster refuses to engage by insisting it holds the power when it comes to energy policy, it will be a political gift to the Holyrood administration.

“It’s Scotland’s Oil” was the famous SNP election slogan from more than half a century ago. John Swinney’s reshaped government could do worse than to repackage that message for our current times.

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