Business leaders have called for the windfall tax on oil and gas firms to be axed after 25,000 jobs have been lost since Labour came to power.

A report from the North Sea Transition Taskforce says a plan to phase out the energy profits levy must be brought forward to prevent a ‘disorderly decline’ in the industry.

The report warns that without action, jobs will be lost too quickly for them to be replaced by new roles in the renewables industry such as wind farms.

Philip Rycroft, chairman of the taskforce, said: ‘The fundamental problem is that the traditional energy economy is declining faster than the new one is being built.

‘If we allow that gap to widen further, we will lose skilled people, businesses and infrastructure which cannot simply be recreated when new industries are ready to expand at scale.’

The taskforce – backed by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce – said oil and gas supports 115,000 jobs directly and through its supply chains.

But that represents a fall of 25,000 since the last election, with the pain of job cuts being ‘particularly acute’ in north-east Scotland, a region where one in four people is employed in the offshore energy industry. Four-fifths of the industry remains in oil and gas.

Firms are struggling because of the windfall tax which was introduced by the Conservatives and increased under Labour. 

The energy profits levy (EPL) – on top of usual tax rates – means operators are paying a staggering 78 per cent of their profits in tax.

That has crushed investment and jobs in the North Sea and is widely blamed for energy giant BP’s announcement this summer that it plans to exit the region after six decades. 

The Government plans to replace the EPL with a tax that only applies during periods of high prices, from 2030. But the latest report is calling for this to be brought forward to 2027.

Industry analysis suggests this could unlock up to £50billion of private sector investment and over £13billion in tax revenues over the coming decade.

The report argues that maintaining a domestic energy industry is vital to help protect jobs and the skills needed to build the energy system of the future, as well as reduce Britain’s exposure to imports and global supply disruptions.

It said: ‘The choice is not between oil and gas and a clean energy future, but between a managed transition that retains jobs, investment and industrial capability, and a disorderly decline in which they are lost before replacement industries are ready.’

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, said: ‘Moving to a stable and competitive regime from 2027 would give businesses confidence to invest, protect highly skilled jobs and help retain billions of pounds of economic activity in the UK.’

Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, said: ‘Jobs and investment are being lost right now.

‘We have always championed the transition, but it has to be a transition in reality rather than just in name. 

'That means protecting the skills, businesses and supply chains we already have while creating the conditions for new industries to grow.’

The report also criticises Labour for dragging its feet in giving approval to major new North Sea oil and gas fields Rosebank and Jackdaw, even as its rhetoric towards the industry has seemingly thawed.