INVERCLYDE has missed out on a potential jobs boost after it was confirmed that a new Government-backed energy firm will be based in Aberdeen.
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, confirmed the news in his speech at the Labour party conference.
Sir Keir Starmer addressed the Labour Party conference today (Image: PA)
The decision comes after GB Energy was allocated £8.3billion in funding over the next five years to develop future offshore wind projects as part of the UK’s transition to renewable energy and was one of the Prime Minister’s key points throughout the election campaign.
The Prime Minister said: “We said, GB Energy, our publicly owned national champion, the vehicle will drive forward our mission on clean energy, belonged in Scotland, and it does.
“But the truth is, it could only really ever be based in one place in Scotland.
“So today, I can confirm that the future of British energy will be powered as it has been for decades, by the talent and skills of the working people in the Granite City with GB Energy based in Aberdeen.”
There had previously been calls for the government to consider basing the firm in Inverclyde, with council leader Stephen McCabe noting that it is difficult for the area to ‘compete with the cities for private sector jobs’.
But less than a month after Labour’s General Election win it was reported that Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh were being considered as the three shortlisted locations for the company’s base.
Council leader Stephen McCabe had previously that it is difficult for the area to ‘compete with the cities for private sector jobs’.
In his first Labour Party conference speech since entering No 10, Sir Keir told delegates in Liverpool that “change has begun”, but went on to warn that there would be difficult decisions ahead.