The Prime Minister has announced £200million worth of support for Grangemouth – but too late to save 400 jobs at Scotland’s last oil refinery.
Sir Keir Starmer said he hoped the money could attract £600million more from the private sector for green industries such as bioengineering, hydrogen energy and biofuels.
Unions welcomed the intervention, but said it was only a first step in securing a future of the massive petrochemical works near Falkirk as it moves away from fossil fuels.
It also came amid criticism from within the Labour Party, with Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, saying he was angry at the UK government for its handling of the refinery’s closure.
Owners Petronineos plan to shut down the site refinery this summer with the loss of most of its 500 workers and import fuels instead.
At the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Sir Keir admitted the refinery closure would go ahead by setting out help for those affected, including 18 months’ full pay, skills and training support, and tax breaks for local employers hiring laid-off workers.
The Government would also work with business ‘to develop viable proposals’ for the site.
He said: ‘To attract private investors into the partnership we need, we will allocate £200 million from the National Wealth Fund for investment in Grangemouth – an investment in Scotland’s industrial future.’
Sir Keir Starmer announced a financial aid package for Grangemouth
The Prime Minister made the announcement to a threadbare audience in Glasgow
He later denied he had left the support until it was ‘too late’.
He said: ‘I wanted to make sure that we took time to work up a credible proposal for the future. It’s very easy to put proposals on the table that don’t hold water.
‘We’re not talking about something that tides people over, not something for the next three or four years. It’s a generational opportunity for Grangemouth. That took time.
‘There’s £200 million on the table from the government. We’re looking for three times that much from the private sector. That is a huge investment in Grangemouth.’
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was a ‘game-changing announcement’.
Earlier this month, Mr Leishman said: ‘There’s a lot of people who have got to carry the can for this but we really, in government now, should be doing an awful lot more.’
Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said Sir Keir and the UK government had ‘finally listened’, adding: ‘This needs to be the start not the end in delivering a real workers’ transition for Grangemouth.’
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer added: ‘This funding will only have a transformative impact if used correctly and is accompanied by further investment from both governments.’
John Swinney, who last week pledged £25 million extra from the SNP Government, said the new UK government funding for Grangemouth ‘must be made available immediately’.
Around 2,000 people are directly employed at Grangemouth, including 500 at the refinery, 450 on the Forties pipeline from the North Sea and 1,000 in Ineos petrochemicals.
Project Willow, a £1.5million report into how Grangemouth could become a low-carbon energy hub, is due out later this month.
