A SCOTTISH Labour MP tore into broken promises from his party’s leadership in a fiery Westminster speech after it was confirmed that Scotland’s last oil refinery had ceased work for good.
The Grangemouth site in Falkirk, which is run by PetroIneos (a joint venture between billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos and the Chinese state-owned PetroChina), said in an email reported by the media on Tuesday that it had ceased processing crude oil.
The site is due to close later this year, with the loss of around 400 jobs. During the General Election, Labour leadership had pledged to step in and save the roles, pledges which Scottish Labour MP Brian Leishman raised with the Energy Secretary at Westminster.
Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, told Ed Miliband: “Today is the end of over a century of refining at Grangemouth.
“Scotland once again is a victim of industrial vandalism and devastation, and I don't want anyone in this chamber to dare mention a ‘just transition’, because we all know that the Conservatives were in power and the SNP currently in Holyrood did nothing to avert this catastrophic decision happening.
“I put it to the Secretary of State, the Labour leadership in the General Election campaign said they would step in and save the jobs at the refinery.
“What has changed? And why have we not done the sensible thing for Scotland's energy security?”
Responding, Miliband said: “Well, my honourable friend is talking about a very, very important issue, and Grangemouth has a really important role in Scotland.
“What I would say to him, what I would say to him and to others is this government, as soon as it saw the situation it inherited, put money in to help the workers and has made this huge investment commitment of £200 million, working hand in glove with the Scottish Government, so we absolutely build the future in Grangemouth.
“We are absolutely committed to building the future for Grangemouth communities, and we look forward to working with him and members across the house to do that.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously pledged £200m from the National Wealth Fund would be ring-fenced for Grangemouth, but on Monday Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes called for “clarity” amid concerns about when and how the funding may finally be deployed.
“Highly-skilled, well-paid workers, are being thrown on an industrial scrapheap. Starmer and [John] Swinney have allowed one of the worst self-inflicted blows to happen in generations and they will face the electoral consequences," she said.
“For all the talk, nothing has been done and both governments have effectively allowed China to shutdown Scotland’s capacity to refine fuel, as it hopes to use Grangemouth as an import hub. Workers will not forget or forgive.”
Speaking at Westminster after Leishman, Scottish Labour MP Euan Stainbank, who represents Falkirk, said that Grangemouth workers’ skills should not be viewed as “obsolete, but utterly essential for the just transition”.
He asked: “What consideration are ministers giving to the urgent policy recommendations in Project Willow to provide accelerated investment in clean energy infrastructure and the jobs it promises for Grangemouth?”
In March, the Project Willow report outlined nine options which it said had been identified as the best routes forward for Grangemouth, with these falling into three broader categories: waste recycling, bio-feedstocks, and offshore wind conduit projects.
The report said that around £3.5 billion in private investment will be needed.
Responding to Stainbank, Energy Secretary Miliband said: “Well, my honourable friend, also a really powerful advocate for his constituents, is absolutely right about this.
“Project Willow, it was left lying on the shelves by the last government.
“We put the money in to take Project Willow forward, now we're going to implement Project Willow, and absolutely crucial to that is making sure that the skills of oil and gas workers are properly used in the future, including with the skills passport also which lay dormant under the last government and which we are powering ahead with.”
