ANAS Sarwar has been slammed for claiming during the General Election that the new Labour Government would save jobs lost by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery.
During a debate hosted by STV between all of Scotland’s party leaders in June, the Scottish Labour leader was asked by political editor Colin Mackay whether a new Labour Government would save Grangemouth.
“We would step in to save the jobs at the refinery and invest in that transition by making an energy transition hub at Grangemouth,” he responded (below).
During the general election campaign Anas Sarwar promised a new Labour Govt would step in and save all of the jobs at Grangemouth. It was a lie. He's yet to be challenged on the lie. pic.twitter.com/26w12ngWiS
— MSM Monitor (@msm_monitor) October 21, 2024
“And we’ll put hundreds of millions of pounds behind it to make it a reality, to protect those jobs.”
Now, the SNP have hit out at the claim – with MSP Michelle Thomson saying Sarwar made “a lot of commitments during the election campaign which he has failed to deliver on”.
It comes after new Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said that the UK Government cannot guarantee a new job for every worker who could be laid off when Grangemouth closes next year.
Plans for the closure of the site in the second quarter of next year, with the loss of up to 400 jobs, were announced by owners Petroineos last month.
On Thursday, the UK and Scottish Government announced a £500,000 project that will see “bespoke support” offered by Forth Valley College to help workers build on current skills and develop new ones to help them find new work in the green energy sector.
But Murray (below) said that, while both Governments were doing what they could to secure work for those under threat, it could not provide an assurance everyone would be employed ahead of the refinery closure.
“Government can’t give that guarantee,” he told reporters.
“What we are trying to do is put the conditions in place to make sure all the opportunities are open.”
Thomson – who represents Falkirk East which includes Grangemouth – said it was her job to do “everything in my power to protect those jobs”.
“I am calling on the Scottish and UK governments to work with Ineos to delay their planned closure,” she said.
“The economic impact of the closure is significant, putting nearly 3000 jobs and the important chemical cluster based around Grangemouth at risk”.
Scottish Labour have been approached for comment.
