Business chiefs in Scotland’s three largest cities have launched a public bidding war after it emerged Edinburgh , Glasgow and Aberdeen are all in the running to become home to Labour’s new publicly-owned energy company. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said GB Energy will provide a “huge boost to the Scottish economy” and promised a decision on the location of its headquarters will be made shortly. Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our Politics newsletter Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
Labour has repeatedly said the new company will be based north of the Border. The Times reported Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, has now narrowed the location down to one of Scotland’s three biggest cities. Aberdeen is widely seen as the favourite due to its importance to the energy industry.
Any decision to opt for the central belt instead would be seen as a huge snub for the city, with one source saying its business leaders would go “tonto”. Mr Murray said: “Every city and every area in Scotland can make a case – all those cases are being made at the moment, very strongly, to Ed Miliband, and a decision will be made relatively shortly.” The Scottish Secretary, who was visiting Social Bite, a social enterprise in Edinburgh, added: “Where it's headquartered, of course it's .