LOCAL representatives have called the last day of crude oil production at the Grangemouth oil refinery an “absolutely dreadful day” for Scotland.
It was confirmed on Tuesday by PetroIneos, a joint venture between billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos and the Chinese state-owned PetroChina, in an email reported by the media that Scotland’s last oil refinery had ceased processing crude oil for good.
The site, which is situated in the Falkirk council area, is due to close later this year, with the loss of around 400 jobs.
Leading local representatives in the area, SNP MSP Michelle Thomson, has written to Labour’s Anas Sarwar challenging him to keep his General Election campaign promise to the refinery workers and back growing calls for a nationalisation plan to secure the site.
On the campaign trail last year, the Scottish Labour leader promised that his party would “step in to save the jobs at the refinery”.
He has since argued the UK Government can’t do anything as the refinery is operated by a privately owned company.
Thomson said Sarwar’s argument has “completely fallen apart” after the UK Government moved at a rapid pace to take control of British Steel, a privately-owned company, stating that it is a critical economic asset.
She wrote: “You promised before the General Election that a UK Labour Government would ‘step in to save the jobs at the refinery’ and Daniel Johnson MSP said the refinery could be saved with a ‘small investment’.
“Despite this, under Labour Government plans, the refinery will be lost and most jobs that could come from Project Willow recommendations will not be delivered until at least 2030.”
Thomson added: “It would appear the only reason these sites are not comparable, and why Westminster is not offering parity of treatment, is geography. One site is in England, the other is in Scotland.
“This is not the first time Westminster governments have allowed Scottish industry to fail.”
Labour’s MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, Brian Leishman, said the Labour Government had broken its promise by not stepping in and saving the workers jobs at Grangemouth.
Leishman had called on Keir Starmer to nationalise the Grangemouth site like the UK Government did for British Steel last month.
He added that in the 10 months that Labour has been in power, they have not done enough and that his party needs to do “so much better” than what they are currently doing.
Leishman said: “Today is an absolutely dreadful day, not just for Grangemouth, but for all of Scotland.
“Today Grangemouth – after a century of refining oil – stops. That means hundreds of workers in the local community are going to lose their jobs – thousands in the wider supply chain; and Scotland's energy security severely weakened and compromised.
“The Labour Party, in fact, the Labour leadership said in the General Election campaign that they would step in and they would save the jobs at the refinery.
“Yet it hasn't happened. It is broken promises like that that turn the electorate away from mainstream politics, and they lose the faith in politicians to actually work in their favour.
“This Labour Government in the first 10 months has got Grangemouth wrong. What we have done is nowhere near enough. We have to do so much better now that we are in power.”
Leishman added: “There are so many Labour MPs I know, and also Labour Party members, that want to reject austerity, want to invest in our communities and want to have a proper industrial strategy and a just transition that takes workers and communities along with them.
“This is a dreadful day, not just for Grangemouth and not just for Scotland, but also for the Scottish Labour Party.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Green MSP Gillian Mackay, who grew up 200 yards from the refinery and represents the area at Holyrood, said the closure is devastating for both the workers and the local community.
She said: We should have seen our Governments doing more to protect jobs and modernise the refinery into a space that would help our transition to a greener future.
“It is a further blow to the community. It is deeply disappointing that Labour have not stepped in to protect workers or to future proof jobs in the same way that they have with steelworks down south.
“Grangemouth is my home, and it has been frustrating to see promises being made and dropped as easily as PetroIneos’ detached billionaire has now dropped the workforce.
Mackay added: “I am concerned about what this will look like in the short term for the town. Warm words will not pay the bills. Grangemouth holds a lot of potential, as do the workers who offer the skills we need for transitioning away from fossil fuel.
“Governments have not done enough to protect the workers, and my fear is that Grangemouth will now go the same way as so many other communities and towns, where big businesses have cut their losses and left at the expense of the communities and livelihoods.”
