The Press & Journal has today published a rare front-page editorial calling for a "reset" of UK energy policy as Westminster's Energy Security and Net Zero Committee arrives in Aberdeen for an evidence session later today.
The intervention by editor Craig Walker comes as MPs prepare to hear evidence directly from industry, with Mr Walker arguing the committee's visit "could hardly be better timed" as the UK considers its future energy strategy.
Framing the arrival of the committee as an opportunity to rethink policy under the incoming government, he writes that "few areas deserve a fresh approach more than Britain's energy policy" and urges the next Prime Minister to place Aberdeen at the heart of decisions on the UK's energy future.
Mr Walker argues that the debate has become trapped in a "false choice between supporting oil and gas or backing the energy transition", adding: "This isn't one industry replacing another; it is one energy economy evolving."
He says the committee's visit gives Parliament "an opportunity to hear directly from the people who are building that future every day", while criticising what he describes as a lack of engagement from the outgoing Prime Minister with the north-east's energy sector.
Addressing the expected new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, Mr Walker writes: "If Mr Burnham believes prosperity is built through place, then Aberdeen should have a seat at the table when Britain's energy future is being written."
He calls for the Energy Profits Levy to be replaced with a long-term fiscal mechanism, writing: "If Mr Burnham wants to demonstrate that Britain remains committed to responsible domestic energy production, he should commit to ending the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) now and replace it with a stable, long-term investment mechanism."
The editorial also highlights the sector's economic importance, noting that around 115,000 people still work across the UK's offshore oil and gas industry and warning the north-east could lose a further 18,000 jobs by 2035 if investment continues to decline.
It concludes with a direct appeal to the incoming Prime Minister: "Come to Aberdeen and build Britain's energy policy with this city, not from afar."
Click here to read the full editorial.