Scottish Labour MP Warns Starmer Oil Refinery Closure Risks Thatcher-Scale "Devastation"
Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland is set to close this summer (Alamy)
4 min read
A Scottish Labour MP has compared the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery to the “social devastation” caused by the closure of coal mines across the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.
Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, has been critical of the current government's direction under Keir Starmer. He has recently urged ministers to step in and save Scotland's sole oil refinery, which is expected to close by the summer at a cost of 400 jobs.
Petroineos, a joint venture between Ineos and PetroChina, has said the decision to discontinue Grangemouth was because of increased competition from industrial sites in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Leishman told PoliticsHome he believed the government had not done enough to save an integral pillar of “national infrastructure”, which in turn would make the UK more reliant on hostile nations for oil and gas.
“The closing of the refinery is not just a constituency issue for Alloa and Grangemouth, it’s a Scotland-wide issue,” he said.
“This is a vital key piece of national infrastructure. The problem we’ve got as well is, it is not only in the hands of one foreign power, in the Chinese Communist Party, but also in the hands of a multi-billionaire private capital owner.
“It will decimate my community. There will be massive implications and knock-on effects for local businesses. The easy comparison is what happened to the mining communities; we have an unjust transition and it is a disaster for workers.”
The refinery was opened by BP in 1924 and is the United Kingdom’s oldest refinery. Petroineos claimed it had invested more than £900 million since 2011 and had recorded losses of £594 million over the last 14 years.
The government, however, has previously said Petroineos "made it clear" to ministers that the site has no commercial future. Governments in Westminster and Holyrood have also promised to upskill the local workforce ahead of redundancies.
The Scottish Labour MP did not blame the UK Government's mission of achieving Net Zero on the expected closure of Grangemouth. He said the UK was not cutting carbon emissions quickly enough, as the government is obligated by law to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 100 per cent by 2050.
However, he also said the government had not taken an environmental assessment and added that he believed removing the refinery would do nothing to reduce global emissions.
“There's been no environmental impact assessment carried out by the UK government,” he said. “We're basically going to be shifting emissions, because we're going to have ARA (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Antwerp) as European Cash and Carry in Mainland Europe, to provide oil to Scotland.”
He urged the government to find his constituents suitable work in the future.
“The whole point of a transition is that it’s not a turn off the taps and that is it. That means let’s invest in Grangemouth.
“What we've got to do, whatever pace it happens, at the essential thing we've got to do is we've got to take workers... and communities along for that ride,” he added.
Ministers have said the decision will not impact Scotland's energy security, as Grangemouth imported more than 90 per cent of its crude oil in 2023.
Many Scottish MPs are already concerned they may not win their seats at the next election following unpopular decisions by Starmer's government. Polling shows Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour has struggled to win support ahead of 2026 Holyrood election, with the SNP on track to win the next election by 10 percentage points.
“We've got central Scotland, but we’re in serious danger of giving it away. And I think that's going to have a serious impact on Holyrood, but also... on future Westminster elections,” he said.
“Right-wing populism is seducing people, that’s why it’s so important as a government we do improve living standards for people so we can show we have a credible left-wing solution to the societal problems which are really impacting the problem.
“When Reform moved to the right, they bring the Tories with them. We cannot as a Labour Party in government especially be dragged to the right. We’ve got to be bold and stick to our principles and our ethos as a party and say the left provide the solutions for the societal problems of inequality we have.”
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “We took immediate action following Petroineos’ confirmation on the closure of Grangemouth.
“Before July, there was no overall plan for the future of the Grangemouth refinery. 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.
“We are also jointly funding Project Willow with £1.5m, which is urgently engaging with trade unions and developing options for a sustainable industrial future at the site.”
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