DOUGLAS LUMSDEN: We were RIGHT to make this election about oil and gas. Starmer and Swinney can no longer ignore that voters want to get Britain drilling again

Published: 20:54, 19 June 2026 | Updated: 20:55, 19 June 2026 First of all, I want to say thank you. A massive thank you to every single voter in Aberdeen South who voted for me. It is the most incredible honour to have been elected for this constituency in the city I have always been proud to call home. And thanks also must go to my campaign team. They worked tirelessly to ensure our message on saving oil and gas jobs reached as many voters as possible. Our fantastic, historic victory – and the scale of it – has sent both the Labour and SNP governments the loudest possible message. Their war on oil and gas must end now. Sir Keir Starmer and John Swinney can no longer ignore that voters want to get Britain drilling again. The Scottish Conservatives – backed up by our fantastic UK party leader Kemi Badenoch – were right to turn this by-election into a referendum on oil and gas. When 1,000 jobs are being lost from the sector every month, then the situation facing Aberdeen, the North East and the wider UK economy is nothing short of an emergency. Yet out-of-touch SNP and Labour politicians just don’t get it. And now the electorate have expressed their fury. Campaigning in Aberdeen over the last few weeks demonstrated clearly that the future of oil and gas is the main issue dominating people’s minds. Tory campaigners celebrate after Douglas Lumsden, front centre, wins in Aberdeen South Even if you don’t work in the sector, in this constituency pretty much everybody knows someone with a link to it. They also understand that the SNP and Labour’s decimation of the sector is having a devastating impact across the whole city. Union Street is a shadow of its former self. People have less money to spend to support our struggling retail and hospitality businesses. Many are leaving for opportunities elsewhere rather than getting them with firms associated with the North Sea. I stood in this election because the future of the industry is personal to me. I worked in it for 25 years before I took the decision to enter politics. I have spent the last five years at Holyrood getting frustrated at SNP ministers failing to stand up for our brilliant oil and gas workforce. Now I am going to take that fight to Westminster and shout until net-zero zealot Ed Miliband understands about the irreversible damage he is doing to the North Sea with his crazy ban on new oil and gas licences. I am appalled and saddened in equal measure to see other parties and leaders happy to oversee the death of the North Sea. John Swinney has spent the last few months, including during the by-election campaign, trying to dupe voters into believing he is suddenly a friend of the sector. Well, I’ve got news for you John, the public aren’t buying your shameless spin. They see you failing to unequivocally back the industry when you are challenged by Russell Findlay at First Minister’s Questions. Even on the day of this by-election, you could only deliver total hot air. If only we could harness that to power Scotland’s energy needs. The public hate the presumption against new oil and gas projects that Nicola Sturgeon introduced in 2023, and they know that you still dance to the tune of the woman who you were slavishly loyal to as her deputy for almost nine years. For all of Swinney’s warm words, the SNP’s final energy strategy has still not been published and this week my party revealed that ministers have done nothing on it this year. The SNP are still an anti-drilling party. Maybe losing the seat that belonged to their former Westminster leader Stephen Flynn will finally be the catalyst for them to see the error of their ways. But already they are fighting like Nats in a sack as they can’t quite fathom how more than 14,000 voters backed the unashamedly pro-oil-and-gas Scottish Conservatives. A former adviser to Sturgeon and Swinney has already told Flynn to reflect on being one of the people responsible for the loss, after he posted his own reflection tweet. Swinney, meanwhile, has pinned all the blame on tactical voting and is kidding himself on by saying the SNP vote remained strong. I was quietly optimistic as the campaign went on that we could upset the odds and snatch this seat. And now having taken the seat in the most spectacular fashion, the Scottish Conservatives are well and truly back on the pitch in Scottish politics. People who were writing those obituaries about the party after last month’s Holyrood election are not shouting so loudly now. Certainly not those in Reform who finished a distant third, having sent Scottish activists to campaign in Makerfield, where they were trounced by Andy Burnham, instead of Aberdeen. The Scottish Conservatives put the future of oil and gas at the centre of their campaign in Aberdeen South And a word on Thursday’s other by-election in Scotland too. My colleague Jack Cruickshanks fought a terrific campaign in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry and finished in a superb second place, pushing Reform into third and Labour – who were only 859 votes behind the SNP two years ago – into fourth. The Scottish Conservatives are united right across the UK, with Kemi and Russell singing from the same hymn sheet on every issue. We’ve got the experience, the motivation and the fight to take on the SNP and Labour. People want politicians who will stand up for what matters to them. And that is exactly what I plan to do in the Commons. And I know that the newest Conservative MSP, James Adams – who replaces me at Holyrood – will do the same for the North East. With the SNP engulfed by sleaze and scandal, and Sturgeon’s crooked husband set to be sentenced next week, the Scottish Conservatives will continue to focus on common-sense politics. And that includes telling Labour and the SNP to get Britain drilling again – every day until they finally U-turn. That’s why I can’t wait to get to work in my new job. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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