KEIR Starmer’s attack on the SNP’s industrial strategy has been described as “insulting” by the party’s deputy Westminster leader.
The Prime Minister claimed that the Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks are “lying mothballed” because of a “bad deal” struck by the Scottish Government.
He claimed the SNP had “no industrial strategy to bring work to those mills” and that he was “horrified” by the outcome.
It’s understood the workforce at Dalzell, in Motherwell, are currently furloughed on 80 per cent pay.
However, SNP MP Pete Wishart called out Starmer’s “audacity” after the UK Government stepped in to save British Steel in Scunthorpe, but has failed to intervene at the Dalzell works or the Grangemouth oil refinery.
Writing in The Sunday Times, Starmer wrote: “This Labour government will always support our proud steel industry. So I’m horrified that the Dalzell and Clydebridge steelworks in Lanarkshire is lying mothballed, with workers on furlough.
“All because the SNP negotiated a bad deal and has no industrial strategy to bring work to those mills.
“We’re standing up for Scottish steel - now John Swinney needs to step in and get those plants up and running again.”
Starmer’s comments come as recent polling shows the Scottish Labour party tanking in the polls ahead of Holyrood 2026. Last week, one survey suggested Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could become the official opposition in the Scottish Parliament, returning more MSPs than the Tories and Labour.
“Next year, Scots will have the chance to boot out a tired SNP devoid of ideas after 20 years, and chart a new direction with Anas Sarwar,” the Prime Minister wrote.
He added: “Ultimately, I believe that a Scottish Labour government at Holyrood, working with a Labour government in Westminster, will deliver the very best deal for working people.”
Dalzell and Clydebridge are now the only remaining steelworks in Scotland.
Wishart (above), the SNP deputy Westminster leader, pointed out that successive UK governments had failed to help save Dalzell, Lochaber aluminium smelter and the Grangemouth oil refinery.
“The audacity of Keir Starmer to attempt to wash over the UK government’s betrayal of Scottish industry is insulting,” he said.
“They put emergency support in for Scunthorpe steelworks and deliberately legislated to exclude Scotland and therefore, Dalzell works from any such help, now or in the future.”
“Like the Tories, Labour are making it abundantly clear that Scotland will always be an afterthought for Westminster - the SNP is the only party that will always be on Scotland’s side,” he added.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has previously urged the UK Government to nationalise Grangemouth, and accused Labour of treating Scotland as an “afterthought”.
We previously told how Scottish Labour MSPs rejected proposals to give Grangemouth equal protections to Scunthorpe's British Steel works.
