Grangemouth should be nationalised by UK Government, local Labour MP says

The UK Government should nationalise Scotland’s last oil refinery to protect jobs and the country’s national security, a Labour MP has told STV News.

Brian Leishman warned his party’s leadership against letting down the Falkirk community and the rest of Scotland.

The Alloa and Grangemouth MP said the site “must remain open” for the country’s security while warning against a repeat of what happened to the UK’s miners during deindustrialisation four decades ago.

His comments come after Scotland’s energy secretary vowed her party would “never do what Margaret Thatcher did”.

Petroineos announced that it would be closing the refinery in the second quarter of next year as it looks to move to become an import terminal – putting 400 jobs at risk.

The firm – a joint venture between Ineos and PetroChina – said the site “faces significant challenges due to global market pressures and the energy transition”.

A spokesman for Petroineos said the refinery has lost around 500,000 US dollars (£381,000) per day, and absorbed total losses of 775 million US dollars (£590m).

They said Grangemouth – the oldest refinery in the UK – can’t compete with bigger, newer refineries across the globe.

Both the UK and Scottish governments announced a £100m investment package for the Grangemouth area amid fears of the impact the closure will have on the community.

Leishman said: “My message to Keir Starmer, the entire Labour leadership, and also the First Minister John Swinney is to get around the table with Petroineos, and get to the bottom just to see exactly what the books say about the refinery, and exhaust all opportunities to make sure the refinery stays open.

“And ultimately what we need in this country is nationalisation of the refinery.

“As a Labour MP within a Labour government, I am putting forward that case and I am doing that on a daily basis.

“My position has been consistent and it will remain so – Grangemouth must stay open.”

Asked if ignoring those calls would mean letting down the local community, Leishman said: “Absolutely. The local community, in fact all of Scotland, is dependent on this.

“When we look at the industrial devastation we had four decades ago with the mining community, something similar is now playing out at Grangemouth.

“The miners four decades ago kept Scotland warm and now Grangemouth refinery workers keep Scotland moving.”

Asked if the Labour government would be letting people down if it did not step in, Leishman said: “Yes, of course it is. It’s letting the constituency down and it’s letting all of Scotland down.”

The Labour MP’s comments come after Scotland’s energy secretary vowed her party would “never do what Margaret Thatcher did”.

Gillian Martin said she gave her “absolute commitment” that Grangemouth workers will have the “full efforts” of the Scottish Government to ensure jobs remain in the area.

“We will never do what Margaret Thatcher did, we will never do that,” she told MSPs during a speech at Holyrood, “because we know that it lasts for decades.

She added: “You have my absolute commitment that I will make sure that Grangemouth has the full efforts of the Scottish Government working in partnership with whoever is serious about turning it into a biorefinery, a sustainable aviation hub, a hydrogen production hub…whatever will get us the maximum economic activity for those highly skilled workers.”