Windfall tax: SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray calls for tax on oil and gas giants to be 'widened', but not 'extended'

Neil Gray MSP says a ‘wider spread’ of the windfall tax on oil and gas giants will help Scotland transition away from fossil fuels – but insists the SNP does not want to see the tax extended

An SNP minister has said the windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas giants should be “widened”.

Neil Gray said this would better help Scotland transition away from fossil fuels - but insisted the SNP did not want to see an extension of the windfall tax.

The health secretary said: “There has to be a wider spread of the windfall tax to ensure we are fair and consistent.”

Health Secretary Neil Gray has suggested his party would like to see the windfall tax on profits in the oil and gas industry widened. Image: Andrew Milligan/Press Association.

He made the comments during an event by Holyrood Magazine discussing the upcoming general election, where he attacked the UK Labour Party’s economic plans should they win the keys to Number 10.

Mr Gray said: “[Shadow Chancellor] Rachel Reeves has signed up to the Tory fiscal rules.

“That is a choice she’s decided to take in terms of how she will steer the economy, but it is not the only choice.

“The greatest economic opportunity we have is the transformation of energy to green energy and the opportunity there in Scotland for jobs and energy security.

Scottish Health Secretary Neil Gray during a visit to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow

“Labour has turned their backs on a huge opportunity, which is why we need SNP MPs at Westminster holding Labour to account on this.”

In the Budget earlier this month, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced an extension of the windfall tax into 2028/29.

It came despite Scottish Conservatives pleading with him not to, with Scottish leader Douglas Ross telling journalists he had personally met with the chancellor to make this case to him.

Only days before the budget UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made it a manifesto pledge to extend the windfall tax if he wins the next election.

However, First Minister Humza Yousaf has spoken out against the plans, saying there is “extreme anger” from people in the north-east of Scotland.

Mr Yousaf accused Labour of behaving like Margaret Thatcher by throwing oil and gas workers “on the scrapheap” by favouring an extension of the windfall tax.

At the election event Mr Ross asked Mr Gray to clarify why he wants the windfall tax to be “widened” but not extended like his party has promised, branding his comments “incoherent”.

Mr Gray said: “We accept the position that there needs to be a windfall tax.

“We want to see fairness in the system so we don’t have an extension that only targets oil and gas companies when we need their investment to see a just transition to green energy.

“We need to take them with us.

“There is an argument to be had at Westminster around a windfall tax post-Covid that sees companies which have benefitted from the Covid period and seen significant profits seeing a fair tax on the back of that.

“But that cannot be used to fund nuclear energy projects in England or a tax cut, it needs to be for an energy transition.”