A UK Government minister has dismissed mounting fears over North Sea job losses by pointing to the global popularity of shortbread.
The bizarre exchange in the House of Commons came after SNP MP Graham Leadbitter raised the latest Quarterly Economic Survey from Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, which shows that more than a quarter of businesses in the North-east expect to cut jobs in the coming months.
In response, Chris Bryant, a Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade, said the government was securing good outcomes for many businesses in the region, pointing to global exports of Walker’s Moray-made biscuits.
Citing the Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES), published alongside law firm Gilson Gray, Mr Leadbitter told MPs that almost half of North-east firms are forecasting falling profits, employment growth has slumped to its weakest level since 2020, and more than a quarter of businesses expect to cut jobs as the region heads into 2026.
He blamed the cumulative impact of the Energy Profits Levy and warned that around 1,000 energy-related jobs are being lost each month.
Asking why the Government was prepared to see North-east businesses and communities suffer, Mr Leadbitter also drew comparisons with the damage inflicted on coalfield communities during the 1980s.
However, responding on behalf of the Government, minister Chris Bryant did not address energy taxation, job losses or the Chamber’s data.
Instead, he pointed to the export success of Walker’s Shortbread, referenced whisky trade discussions with countries including the United States, India and China, and listed scenic locations in the MP’s constituency before suggesting Mr Leadbitter should be “a bit cheerier”.
The response comes as the Chamber warns the North-east economy is “running out of road”, with half of businesses forecasting falling profits — almost 20 percentage points worse than the UK average — and taxation cited as the single biggest constraint on growth.
Chief executive Russell Borthwick has previously warned that current policy decisions are actively undermining confidence, accelerating job losses and weakening the supply chains required to deliver the energy transition.