Conservatives by-election win boosts North Sea oil and gas campaign in Aberdeen

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Conservatives win Aberdeen by-election

Highlights

Douglas Lumsden wins nearly 50 percent of the Aberdeen South by-election vote, a 25 percentage-point gain from the 2024 general election.
Conservative leaders leverage the result to demand ending the North Sea windfall tax, lifting the ban on new drilling licences, and resuming exploration.
Weak economic conditions and 1,000 monthly UK oil and gas job losses intensify regional pressure on the SNP and Labour to adjust energy policies.

Aberdeen vote turns on energy policy

As reported by Financial Times, the Conservatives frame the Aberdeen South contest as a referendum on oil and gas, arguing that high taxes and limits on new North Sea exploration are hurting jobs and energy security. Douglas Lumsden wins almost 50 per cent of the vote, a result that represents a 25 percentage-point increase from the party’s performance in the 2024 general election.

Lumsden says voters have delivered a clear message to the Labour and SNP governments to end what he calls the war on North Sea oil and gas. He calls for new drilling in the North Sea to resume and for both the ban on new licences and the windfall tax to be removed.

Kemi Badenoch also uses the result to press for a change in policy, saying the election is about thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector. She argues the government should lift the ban on new oil and gas licences and says the current approach is damaging U.S. energy security.

Regional pressure grows on SNP and rivals

The by-election highlights the strength of pro-industry sentiment in Aberdeen, where economic conditions have weakened amid job losses running at about 1,000 a month across the UK oil and gas industry. With 75 per cent of the UK’s total energy demand still reliant on oil and gas, the sector maintains that fresh exploration would slow production declines in the mature North Sea basin and reduce dependence on more carbon-intensive imports.

The Conservative gain also adds to a difficult night for Reform UK, which spends on targeted social media advertising in the constituency in an effort to prevent a Tory victory. For the SNP, the defeat deepens pressure over its energy stance in Scotland’s north-east, with Stephen Flynn describing the loss for Richard Thomson as a tough night that will require heavy reflection.

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