Keir Starmer was challenged to meet his election promise to “save” the Grangemouth refinery by a Scottish Labour MP during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister said his Government will “do everything we can to make sure that long-term future is there” for the workers.
But Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman said the government failing to step in and save the refinery would be “a dereliction of duty”.
The refinery is set to close later this year, with more than 400 skilled workers to lose their jobs as a result.
Leishman said in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon: “In the general election campaign, the Labour leadership promised that if we won, we would step in and save the Grangemouth refinery, retain those jobs and invest in its future.
“Six months later, this hasn’t happened yet. If the refinery closes, then thousands of jobs will be lost and Scotland’s national security will become massively weaker.
“Now that we are in power, I know that the government should use it to intervene, save the refinery jobs, protect Scotland, and deliver on the promise to build Grangemouth for the future. Will the Prime Minister do that?”
Starmer replied: “This is a really important point because before July there was no plan at all to support the workers at Grangemouth. Within weeks we announced a £100 million deal for a growth deal and we’re jointly funding Project Willow to find a viable long-term future.
“It is a really serious point, I take it very seriously, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure that viable long-term future is there for the workers, for their communities, and all that rely on it.”
Leishman did not look satisfied with the Prime Minister’s response and shouted something when Starmer finished speaking.
He told the Record afterwards: “The PM can’t pin his hopes on promising jobs down the line with Project Willow, not when that’s years away. Grangemouth refinery workers should not be the victims of an unjust transition that would see them lose their jobs.
“The government need to step in and work with the refinery owners to save the jobs and build Grangemouth for the future, at speed. Anything less is a dereliction of duty from the government to the refinery workers, their communities and all of Scotland because closure will negatively impact all of our country.”
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