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Grangemouth response 'not good enough' - Sarwar

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says the UK government's response to the Grangemouth oil refinery's expected closure is not good enough

There has been "nowhere near enough progress" in efforts to support workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said.

Owner Petroineos is expected to close the site - Scotland's only oil refinery - by the summer with the loss of more than 400 jobs.

Sarwar said the response to the closure was "not good enough".

However, he insisted his Labour colleagues in the UK government were "looking robustly" at how they can support the site, deliver a just transition and secure investment in the area.

It came after Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, expressed anger at Sir Keir Starmer's government, saying more must be done to deal with the "biggest industrial issue to hit Scotland in 40 years".

He also criticised the Scottish government and former Conservative UK government.

The Scottish and UK governments say they have put together a £100m package to support staff and the community, though Holyrood ministers have called for further investment from the Treasury.

During last summer's general election campaign, Sarwar promised that if his party won the UK election it would "step in to save the jobs" at Grangemouth.

PA Media Sir Keir Starmer, a grey haired man with dark-rimmed glasses, photographed while speaking. He is wearing a dark suit and white shirt, in front of wooden wall. He is visible from the shoulders up. PA Media
Sir Keir Starmer has said his government will do all it can to support refinery staff

But speaking to BBC Scotland News on Monday, he said: "Where we are right now is not good enough.

"We need to see more progress and we need to see a stronger response going into the future."

The Scottish Labour leader insisted there had been progress made to help workers. He cited Project Willow, a feasibility study on building a new, long-term industry at the refinery site.

He also said action had been taken to help the workforce with redundancy and re-skilling.

However, Sarwar warned there was still a "huge amount of work to do" to secure the site's future.

Redundancy letters

He said he wanted to see a "just transition" and increased investment in the area.

Sarwar also accused the Scottish government and former Conservative UK government of "inaction" despite warnings the site would be closed.

He said he was putting his case "very forcefully" to Sir Keir and other Labour ministers.

The MSP added: "Where we are right now there has been some progress, but nowhere near enough progress and I keep pressing that case."

PA Media A general view, taken from a high hilltop, of the Grangemouth industrial complex. Cylindrical concrete structures and chimneys rise out of a network of pipes and industrial buildings. PA Media
About 400 jobs are to be lost at the Grangemouth refinery, near Falkirk

Petroineos - a joint venture between Ineos and PetroChina - says the closure will "safeguard" fuel supply to Scotland by converting the refinery into an import terminal for petrol, diesel, aviation fuel and kerosene.

The move is expected to keep around 65 of the roughly 500 jobs on the site.

The majority of the workers at the plant are understood to have agreed voluntary redundancy deals, with the job losses spread out over the next 18 months.

Some refinery workers were sent redundancy letters last week.

The Unite union has called the closure a "needless act of industrial vandalism".

The refinery is only one part of the Grangemouth site, which is also home to Ineos petrochemical plants.

'Short-sighted'

Holyrood ministers have called the closure "short-sighted" and urged the prime minister to "bring forward real investment to save Grangemouth".

First Minister John Swinney told BBC Scotland News: "It's absolutely vital that the Scottish government and the UK government work together with the company to secure the future of Grangemouth.

"Now the Scottish government is absolutely willing to do that. I'm waiting to hear what the UK government's position is."

Sir Keir Starmer has previously said his administration would do everything it could to secure a "long-term future" for workers and their communities.

The UK government has said it took "immediate action" to help workers when the closure was announced.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: "Within weeks, we worked with the Scottish government to put together an unprecedented £100m package to support the community and invest in the local workforce, along with tailored support to help those affected find good, alternative jobs."

Scottish Conservative Russell Findlay described the job losses as "heartbreaking".

He added: "I believe it is preventable if the UK government was serious, along with the Scottish government. They could do something about this."