The SNP has called for a “concrete plan” from Andy Burnham after the Prime Minister said Grangemouth could “be the home of sustainable aviation fuel”.
MPs and MSPs from John Swinney’s party said they were “encouraged” by the Labour leader’s commitment and have asked him to meet them and industry bodies.
Pressure over Grangemouth future
Petroineos, the joint venture between INEOS and PetroChina, closed the refinery in April last year, with the loss of around 400 jobs. It moved instead to operating as an import terminal for finished fuels.
Speaking in the Commons on Wednesday, the Prime Minister promised to work with the SNP on “supporting industrial transition”. He was responding to a question from SNP MP Seamus Logan, who accused the Labour Government of a “betrayal” over Grangemouth.
Mr Burnham told the SNP MP he would “work with him”. He added: “I intend to visit Scotland soon, to look in detail at the issues in the Aberdeen community, because I know they’ve struggled with the impact of transition.
“Let’s see what we can do to build common cause, and let’s look at Grangemouth too, which could be the home of sustainable aviation fuel.
“I’m interested in making progress on all of these issues and I will work with him on that.”
SNP letter asks for funding
In a joint letter to Mr Burnham, SNP MPs Seamus Logan and Graham Leadbitter, and MSPs Martyn Day, Gary Bouse and Keith Brown, said what the site needed now was “a concrete plan and funding from the UK Labour Government”.
They added: “The closure of the Grangemouth site has been devastating for our communities. This choice, alongside the loss of up to 1,000 jobs a month in the North Sea caused by the Energy Profits Levy, has devastated Scotland’s industrial base.”
Shortly before the refinery closed, Project Willow, a joint Scottish and UK Government feasibility study, suggested the site could be used to produce fuel for planes and jets from sustainable and renewable sources. The UK Government has said it wants 22% of all UK jet fuel to be sustainable by 2040.
The report said that, if the plant received between £740 million and £900m of investment, it could begin operating in 2032.
The study was published just weeks after then-prime minister Sir Keir Starmer used a speech at the Scottish Labour conference to say the Government would allocate £200m from the National Wealth Fund for investment in Grangemouth. However, a recent Freedom of Information request submitted by the SNP found that no funding from the National Wealth Fund has been committed or spent on projects at Grangemouth.
Government response
In their letter to Mr Burnham, the SNP politicians said: “Keir Starmer pledged £200m for Grangemouth, yet not a penny of that has actually been delivered.
“This money, as well as a viable plan to deliver a strong sustainable aviation fuel industry, must be delivered without further delay.
“We invite you to meet with us, local representatives and industry bodies in Grangemouth to outline what action the UK Labour Government will take to make Grangemouth the home of sustainable aviation fuel.
“Upon becoming Prime Minister, you pledged growth in every postcode. This is your chance to prove that applies to Scottish postcodes too.”
The UK Government said it was working closely with the Scottish Government on options for investment in Grangemouth, but that developing viable business models for the site was a long-term undertaking. It said the National Wealth Fund was working closely with Scottish Enterprise and the Office for Investment on potential projects to understand how it could best deploy its capital funding.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told News Briefing Team: “The Prime Minister has been clear that he will reindustrialise Britain, and we are taking action to secure the long-term future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster.
“That is why the National Wealth Fund stands ready to invest £200m alongside £14.5m grant funding from last year’s Budget, which has already begun to be delivered.”
Labour MP backs SAF plans
Labour MP Brian Leishman said the Prime Minister had told him on Tuesday that he was “excited by the potential of having sustainable aviation fuel production at Grangemouth”.
He added: “The Government has committed to ambitious SAF mandates and Grangemouth is the perfect location for its production.
“While SNP MPs and MSPs are desperately trying to cover up their Government’s inaction in trying to save the refinery, after all Michael Matheson MSP was informed of plans to close it three years before it did and the SNP did absolutely nothing to save the jobs, I have been meeting officials from the Government and SAF industry experts to try to piece together the industrial vision Grangemouth and Scotland need.
“I’ll leave the SNP to try to deflect from their inaction, indifference and impotence on Grangemouth while I and my Labour Government actually try to create the industry and jobs that will be transformational.”
Read the original source