It’s unacceptable for Scottish Office minister Kirsty McNeill to claim the UK government has done ‘everything we can’ to save jobs at Grangemouth as the refinery faces closure in May, putting our energy security and thousands of jobs at risk. This is a major failure of government inaction 🧵 - ThreadSky

ewangibbs.bsky.social • 23 days ago

It’s unacceptable for Scottish Office minister Kirsty McNeill to claim the UK government has done ‘everything we can’ to save jobs at Grangemouth as the refinery faces closure in May, putting our energy security and thousands of jobs at risk. This is a major failure of government inaction 🧵

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ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

McNeill points to UK government money that she hopes can somehow ‘protect’ more than 400 refinery workers facing job loss in May along with thousands more contract workers and others in the supply chain. The sums are paltry - £1.5m for a study and an extra £10m for a local growth deal.

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

Neither do I find the excuse that the current Labour administration only formed in July credible. The refinery closure was announced in November 2023. It’s been a leading campaign for Unite, the main union at Grangemouth, who are also a major affiliate of the Labour Party.

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

In the immediate aftermath of the election, the new Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, visited Grangemouth and raised hopes that a new more active approach was being forged by the UK government, working with the Scottish government, owners and unions. Failure began when that wasn’t followed up.

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson said socialism is the language of priorities. You can determine priorities by following the money. INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe has been given a billion for a football stadium in Manchester but Grangemouth languishes. This is a political choice.

dhothersall.bsky.social•22 days ago

Sorry Ewan, but "INEOS owner Jim Ratcliffe has been given a billion for a football stadium in Manchester" appears to be an outright falsehood. What the government seems to have said is that it will invest in transport and affordable housing as part of the plan. The National tells lies, you know.

dhothersall.bsky.social•23 days ago

Do you think Unite's proposal to transition the refinery to SAF using government money is credible?

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

I think it’s a serious proposal to meet an identified need in the UK’s energy transition framework. Both the UK and Scottish governments ought to be working with Unite to develop it - including obviously changing it in various ways.

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

You’re not wrong to point to the subsidy element but I would say that to be frank that’s characteristic of the wider energy sector at large. It’s more the norm than the exception.

dhothersall.bsky.social•23 days ago

I accept it's serious, but my concern is whether it's credible. There are conflicting sources on the costs and impacts of transitioning to SAF. And yes, I know that the response is that government should fund the needed studies, but doesn't Unite have a responsibility not to raise false hope too?

bellfieldboy1960.bsky.social•23 days ago

This isn’t a socialist government Ewan. It is more akin to the Major/Cameron Tories. It’s clear that any priorities that Westminster have are for their SE/London Centre not the peripheries. A question rarely asked is where are the Scottish billionaires and multi millionaires with their pet projects?

ewangibbs.bsky.social•23 days ago

No it clearly isn’t!

Good point. Scottish capital missing in action again.

septemberrising.bsky.social•22 days ago

The Labour Party have failed Grangemouth, they lied to the people of Scotland to gain votes knowing their support for jobs was going elsewhere & definitely not in Scotland.

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