Union accuses Starmer of ‘failing to deliver’ Grangemouth cash

Union officials at Grangemouth have accused the prime minister of “failing to deliver” on a £200m promise to invest in the future of the industrial site.

The refinery, owned by Petroineos, ceased processing crude oil in April, leading to the direct loss of about 400 jobs and many others in the supply chain.

While a fuel distribution hub and a vast petrochemical plant remain, the Unite union says a funding package announced in February to support a transition to green energy projects has yet to materialise.

The UK government said it was working to develop “sustainable, long term proposals” for the site.

Sir Keir Starmer pledged the funding for Grangemouth from the National Wealth Fund at the Scottish Labour conference, telling delegates it was an “investment in Scotland’s industrial future”.

But the union claimed “not a penny” of the promised cash had been spent so far.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is little wonder workers are turning away from Labour in their droves when they fail to protect British jobs and critical infrastructure.

“Promises made to the workers of Grangemouth have been broken. Unite produced a clear plan for the site to be transformed, to back workers and create the promised green jobs.

“The government failure to act shows there is absolutely no plan for a jobs transition.”

The UK and Scottish governments jointly funded a £1.5m feasibility study called Project Willow which looked at alternative uses for the Grangemouth site.

Unite said it had produced a detailed and fully costed plan for how the refinery could be transitioned to supply sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Grangemouth worker and senior union representative Chris Hamilton said his colleagues and members of the community felt abandoned by the lack of progress.

“Each month more and more people leave the site through redundancy with empty promises ringing in their ears,” he said.

“This government may have forgotten what it promised – but we haven’t. It must follow through with its promises at pace and do all it can to secure a sustainable future for Grangemouth.”

In June, the UK government’s energy minister, Michael Shanks, said there would be announcements “soon” on the future of Grangemouth.

Shanks, who is also the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West, said the government was exploring a range of “exciting and viable” projects to secure a long-term transition for the site.

At the time he said more than 80 potential investors in the site had come forward, with Scottish Enterprise handling due diligence on proposed projects.

A UK government spokesperson said: “We know this has been an incredibly difficult time for workers and their families.

“When we came to power, there was no overall plan for the future of the Grangemouth refinery and within weeks we delivered an unprecedented support package.

“The National Wealth Fund is investing £200m and we are working closely with investors to advance sustainable, long-term proposals for the site.”

The National Wealth Fund is publicly-owned and backed by the Treasury, and invests alongside the private sector in projects across the UK – primarily focusing on initiatives that support clean energy.

The UK government said its aim was to direct “tens of billions of pounds” of private investment to decarbonise the British economy.

An initial £5.8bn injection was earmarked for green projects including “carbon capture, green hydrogen, ports, gigafactories and green steel,” according to UK government documents.