Brian Leishman: Grangemouth funding commitment needs to be delivered 'at incredible pace' to save jobs

On Sunday, Sir Keir Starmer visited the Scottish Labour Party conference in Glasgow, and announced £200m of funding to kick-start Grangemouth’s clean energy future.

This announcement is part of the UK Government’s national wealth fund, and will help fund nine projects to prepare Grangemouth for a future that does not rely on traditional oil and gas.

The Prime Minister branded it “a generational opportunity”.

Hundreds of workers at Scotland’s only oil refinery are set to lose their jobs, with the first set of employees being made redundant by the end of April.

The refinery’s owners, Petroineos, want to turn the refinery into a fuel import terminal instead.

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The announcement has been welcomed by Brian Leishman, the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, who in the past has been highly critical of his own party for its lack of action on Grangemouth.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Leishman said: “Yesterday’s announcement from the Prime Minister is welcomed, not just by me as the constituency MP, but by workers and their communities.

“This is a good start, but it’s got to be the start of further investment from both governments to secure the industrial future of Grangemouth.

“We need to deliver on the commitments made at an incredible pace, because the first tranche of redundancies are due in a couple of months.

“Time is of the essence.”

Mr Leishman added he is writing to the Prime Minister, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband to get clarity on the commitments, and to find out what timescales are involved.

Immediately after the Prime Minister’s announcement at the party conference, Mr Leishman thanked the workers for their campaigning work, and said the funding must be delivered at “remarkable, break-neck speed”.

He said: “In opposition we made promises and spoke about how our country and communities desperately needed change.

“In 14 long years in opposition we couldn’t deliver on the values we hold dear, values that we want to benefit society.

“Now we are in power, we must absolutely use it - today’s commitment is welcome, but it is just the start and a step in the right direction.”

Last week First Minister John Swinney also announced £25m of funding from the Scottish Government in next year’s budget would be set aside for a Grangemouth just transition fund.

The £200m pledged by the UK Government will also be used to lever in an additional £600m of investment from the private sector.

Sir Keir told Scottish journalists saving the jobs at Grangemouth was a top priority for him when he visited Edinburgh just two days after winning the 2024 general election.

Yesterday, he said: “I was very mindful of the commitment I made going into the election about the importance of Grangemouth and that we would make sure we supported the brilliance of this industrial base in Scotland.

“What I wanted to do is make sure that we took time to work up a credible proposal for the future.

“It’s very easy to put proposals on the table that don’t hold water - what I wanted to do was take the time to do this properly.”

Mr Leishman’s calls have been echoed by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.

Speaking on BBC Good Morning Scotland, Mr Sarwar said: “This needs to happen now at pace, and that’s why getting investors around the table, demonstrating both governments are serious about the long-term future for Grangemouth, is going to be really important.”

He added: “If you think about the connection it’s got to the north-east, if you look at the infrastructure that’s already there, if you look at the port infrastructure that exists around it, the fact it’s got a grid already in place, and it’s perfectly situated in Scotland, this is a huge opportunity for anyone that’s a global investor to come in and do something transformational for that area, but also for Scotland, and that’s what I want,t o go out and find that investment.

“I’ll be working flat out to do that as well.”