With a muddled stance on fossil fuels and the trade union movement worried about what the party stands for, concerns have been raised that the party cannot be taken seriously on economic issues.
In a parliamentary debate today on the economy, shadow cabinet secretary for finance Murdo Fraser highlights that Labour is now “hopelessly confused”.
Yesterday, INEOS, one of the country’s largest energy firms wrote to Labour blasting it on its fracking stance.
And on Sunday Politics, Gary Smith, Scottish secretary of the GMB Union said Labour was “a party which is arrogant” and “a party fundamentally that doesn’t know what it stands for.”
Murdo said:
“Labour’s stance on fracking implies that they are now against fossil fuel development in general. This implies that they are also opposed to further North Sea developments, and conventional onshore oil and gas development.
“This flies in the face of what we’ve already heard from Labour and suggests that they really need to make up their minds.
“It is not just me who thinks Scottish Labour has lost the plot, if even their friends, even their comrades in the trade union movement, are saying these things about them, it really is time for them to sort themselves out.
“If they want to be taken seriously on the economy and other issues, they need to make up their mind as to whether they are for or against the oil and gas industry.”