LABOUR’S Anneliese Dodds has criticised the granting of new North Sea oil and gas exploration licences and claimed that the Conservatives have caused “a huge amount of damage” to the economy.

She told GB News: “That’s not in the interest of bill-payers, it’s not in the interests of our economy, but where that legal relationship has already begun, Labour is not going to be damaging that,

“And as I say, particularly under Liz Truss but under other Conservative administrations as well, we’ve seen a huge amount of damage done to our country’s economic reputation.

“We are concerned that under the Conservatives we are losing that global race for the technologies of the future.

“Now is the time when the Conservatives should have the kind of long term plan that Labour has for driving towards net zero and energy, to get bills down, to get those new jobs in our country.

“And instead, they’re going backwards and really, this is terrible for our economic future.”

In a discussion during Breakfast with Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello, she continued: “I think really they’re trying to play with smoke and mirrors here. The industry itself, as well as bill-payers, is not being fooled.

“They’re not buying this. They know that the future is in renewables. It’s in new nuclear, it’s in green hydrogen, it’s in ensuring that we have those wind power jobs, solar jobs, and other jobs and new technologies.

“They want to see investment in those areas and they’re really frustrated with the Conservative government because they just seem to be really making up a gimmick just about every week, rather than getting a grip on the long term and that’s what Labour would do.”

Asked if she thought Labour could win the by-election in Scotland, following the sacking of MP Margaret Ferrier, Ms Dodds said: “I believe that we can. I think at the moment that people are really being failed by not just one but two governments, obviously by the Government, the Conservative government in Westminster and by the SNP government in Holyrood.”