The oil and gas industry may have to “kick doors in” to get Westminster politicians to understand the importance of the sector, according to Alastair Campbell.
The former New Labour spin doctor told Aberdeen energy bosses they may need to consider a more aggressive approach towards government following successive windfall taxes and the prospect of an incoming Labour government with a thirst for more.
However, he reassured energy bosses that Ed Miliband – who looks likely to play a key role in energy strategy should Sir Keir Starmer become Prime Minister – is not as “crazy or dangerous” as some may think.
Mr Campbell was speaking as a guest at the OEUK annual general meeting, which was held at the Chester Hotel yesterday afternoon.
“I know you will be trying to get your messages through to the Labour Party, just as you are trying to get your messages through to the Government,” he told members.
“But I think you have to do that with a real sense of confidence about who or what you are.
“If you just sit there and wait for them to appreciate you, it’s not going to happen. You may actually have to kick doors in. You may actually have to say things publicly as a way of getting noticed.”
He added: “I think a lot of organisations go in with ministers and they are incredibly reasonable. They lay out all the facts, and then they leave the room and the politician thinks ‘well, I don’t have to worry about them’.
“You’ve got to make them worry a bit.”
Positive story to tell
Mr Campbell, who won three General Elections alongside Tony Blair and New Labour colleagues, said the industry has a positive story to tell, one that can fit into the agenda of the day.
“You boost the economy – that’s a really, really, really big thing,” he said.
“I worked out the other day from one of the stats I saw that your value to the economy is getting close to £30billion, which is on a par with what Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng took out of it! Now, do people really know that? Do they really understand the implications of that.
“Related to that is jobs. The delivery of new, important, well-paid, high-skill jobs is a massive part of Britain’s future. And again, I don’t think we hear that very much.
“And people need to take on board and understand your role in providing homegrown, reliable and secure energy.
“The fourth thing is people need to understand your role as innovators. Do people really understand that you are involved in transition to net zero? Do they understand that there are people in this room who are engaged in doing the stuff that environmentalists are asking for?”
Get inside the big picture
Addressing concerns about the energy policy currently being put forward by his old party, Mr Campbell sought to reassure the industry about Ed Miliband, who has led the charge for tax increases on offshore production.
He said: “Ed has improved as a politician a lot since he was Labour leader.
“He has obviously – partly because of his job (as Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero) – worked out that his niche is as the green guy.
“But I think that Ed is one of those politicians that you can really engage with. So, the tip would be to genuinely engage with him, invite him to things and have ideas for him, and get those ideas in front of him.
“Get inside his big picture, and I think you’ll find he is not as crazy or dangerous as you might think. He’s certainly not Jeremy Corbyn.”