Hundreds of marchers will descend on Edinburgh this week to protest against the closure of Scotland’s last remaining oil refinery.
The purpose of the rally is to encourage more politicians to speak out on the future of Grangemouth.
When the refinery’s owners initially announced in November last year their intention to end operations at the site, the reaction from both the Scottish and UK Governments was muted at best.
It was presented as a commercial decision which didn’t merit intervention from either Holyrood or Westminster.
But that’s not a picture everyone recognises. Unite the union, one of two representing workers at Grangemouth, believes the closure of the refinery must be paused to allow an independent review of its operations to be carried out.
Unite argues the site could be transformed into a production facility for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), of which there is a growing demand around the world.
With a few exceptions, MSPs at Holyrood have been remarkably slow to find their voice on this issue.
While refining is just part of the Grangemouth complex, a conversation needs to be had about the area’s long-term future.
OIder readers may recall the mass campaigns to save Scotland’s steel industry, centred on the giant mills at Gartcosh and Ravenscraig.
There has been little of that intensity surrounding the campaign for Grangemouth.
Unite has led the way. It now deserves support from politicians at Holyrood and the wider public.
All options must be considered to protect jobs at the refinery.
Step in to stop female violence
Keir Starmer will today announce that police chiefs, industry executives and transport bosses must work together to keep women and girls safe.
The Prime Minister will repeat his personal commitment to halve violence against females.
But he will also call on men to speak up and intervene if they are aware of someone harassing a woman.
Starmer will say that meaningful change can only happen if more people adapt their behaviour to help defuse situations, discourage harassers, and support victims.
Meaningful steps have been taken towards reducing violence against women but it remains far too common across society.
The UN has called for work to prevent women being killed by men to be sped up, with harrowing figures showing there is an average of one case every three days.
This is a cause John Swinney has also spoken in favour of.
No matter where a woman resides, they deserve to live without fear.
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