UNION bosses and energy chiefs have turned on Ed Miliband and told him to get drilling in the North Sea to save thousands of jobs.
The two sides are uniting to warn that a refusal to grant new oil and gas licences could mean a demise in the same way as the coal industry.
A report from the Jobs Foundation reveals the transition to renewable energy sources is failing to create jobs at a fast enough pace to replace those in oil and gas.
The study calls for a windfall tax on the sector to be abandoned by 2028 to stop investment being driven to countries such as Nigeria.
Louise Gilmour, Scotland Secretary for the GMB union, said: “We will always need oil and gas.
“I mean, I don’t like Donald Trump, but he’s right about ‘drill, baby, drill’.
“We’ve got this whole reserve of oil and gas just off our coast that we should be using”.
The research shows that Aberdeen faces the loss of 400 jobs every two weeks in a worst case scenario without changes.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has ruled out new oil and gas exploration licences.
The government hit back last night said that issuing new licences for oil and gas “will not take a penny off bills”.
A spokesperson said: “Issuing new licences to explore new fields will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure, and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis.
“We have set out a plan to build a prosperous and sustainable future for the North Sea, backed by record investment to grow clean energy industries, support the management of existing oil and gas fields for their lifespan and deliver the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers.”