SNP MSPs demand £200m promised for Grangemouth
by Eighteen months after the Westminster Labour government pledged £200 million for Grangemouth following the closure of Scotland’s only oil refinery, not a single penny has been delivered.
Now, a group of SNP MSPs have written directly to Andy Burnham, demanding immediate clarity and raising serious concerns that the Treasury has banked the money meant for Scottish workers and communities.
Labour’s failure to deliver funding for Grangemouth is part of a clear pattern of broken promises and inaction since 2024.
Despite initial pledges from Keir Starmer to protect energy jobs in Scotland, his Westminster Labour government ruled out saving the Grangemouth refinery.
Trade union representatives and workers expressed deep frustration at Westminster’s lack of action, with one trade union rep confirming: “We’ve now had it confirmed, this Labour government’s going to do nothing to protect jobs in Scotland.”
They have continued to back a £600 million loan guarantee by the Westminster government for a refinery in Belgiumn owned by INEOS – the same company who owned Grangemouth.
Time and again, Labour failed to stand up for Grangemouth while prioritising spending elsewhere:
SNP on X: Even Labour’s own MPs know they’ve betrayed Grangemouth
While the Westminster Labour government claimed nothing could be done to save Grangemouth – which supplied jet fuel for all of Scotland and supported thousands of jobs -Westminster found the resources to nationalise the Scunthorpe steel plant and committing billions to nuclear power projects south of the border.
These stark double standards leave workers in Scotland in no doubt about Westminster’s priorities. While Thatcher devastated Scotland’s industrial heartlands decades ago, Labour’s energy policies risk repeating those exact mistakes.
In stark contrast to Westminster’s inaction, the Scottish Government has committed nearly £100 million to support Grangemouth and its surrounding communities, despite key economic and energy powers remaining reserved to Westminster.
Now, SNP MSPs are demanding that Andy Burnham and his government honour that commitment and immediately release the promised £200 million fund to secure a just transition and protect workers in Scotland.
You can read their letter in full below:
Dear Andy Burnham,
Eighteen months ago, your Labour Government pledged £200m for Grangemouth after shutting down Scotland’s only oil refinery.
Grangemouth supplied jet fuel for all of Scotland. Forcing its closure caused a jet fuel supply crisis, threatened Scottish supply chains and destroyed thousands of jobs.
Thatcher devastated Scotland’s industrial heartlands and your government’s energy policy is repeating those exact mistakes. Grangemouth epitomises that Westminster failure.
Scotland was told nothing could be done to save Grangemouth as a Scunthorpe steel plant in England was nationalised. Or when a refinery in Lincolnshire was bailed out or as £100bn was found for English nuclear power plants.
These decisions left workers in Scotland in no doubt about the priorities of Westminster.
Given that context, we urgently need clarity on the £200m promised in February 2025 with not a single penny allocated from that fund. It is little wonder there is suspicion this promise will be broken and the money banked by the Treasury.
The Scottish Government has committed nearly £100m to Grangemouth, despite energy and economic powers being reserved to Westminster – it is a betrayal of workers that the so called party of working people, the Labour Party, has barely lifted a finger.
We look forward to hearing from you on exactly when this £200m fund will finally be delivered to Grangemouth.
Yours sincerely,
David Torrance MSP for Kirkcaldy
Pauline Stafford MSP for Bathgate
Gary Bouse MSP for Falkirk West
Martyn Day MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow
David Barratt MSP for Cowdenbeath
Keith Brown MSP for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane