Energy transition must be managed to be successful

NORTH Sea oil and gas were discovered in the early 1970s and energy secretary Tony Benn welcomed the first onshore delivery of oil in 1975. He wanted revenues to be invested in industrial development.

- Mary Glindon

Mrs Thatcher, who was first elected in 1979, had other ideas and the huge revenues were largely used to fund spiralling dole payments that were the result of her deindustrialisation in the 1980s.

It’s a great shame that we didn't emulate Norway, which used its massive oil reserves to establish a sovereign wealth fund that sustains welfare and growth there.

One of the biggest sectors in our regional industrial base is the offshore energy sector of oil and gas companies working in the North Sea. The supply chain that underpins them includes offshore survey vessels, cabling vessels, helicopters, and the fabrication facilities that are needed to allow the sector to operate. We need to keep that here as well. This kit is highly mobile and can be leased around the world.