SNP MSPs have written to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, challenging him to invest in Grangemouth after his pledge to "reindustrialise" Britain. The letter questions when £200m of funding previously committed by the UK Government for Scotland's largest industrial site will finally be spent.
Funding Promised in 2025
Former PM Keir Starmer announced in March 2025 that the cash would be used to "help unlock Grangemouth's full potential", alongside £25m committed by the Scottish Government. The announcement followed a £1.5m feasibility study that identified how Grangemouth could secure a long-term future after its oil refinery - the last in Scotland - was closed by owners Petroineos.
The UK Government has already spent £120m on securing the future of the Ineos-owned ethylene plant at Grangemouth, which supports 500 jobs. But a group of MSPs are now calling for action on the wider industrial site, which sits on the south shore of the Forth.
MSPs' Letter to Burnham
In a letter to Burnham, they said: "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 letter, signed by six MSPs including SNP depute leader Keith Brown, added: "The Scottish Government has committed nearly £100m to Grangemouth, despite energy and economic powers being reserved to Westminster. We look forward to hearing from you on exactly when this £200m fund will finally be delivered to Grangemouth."
UK Government Response
A UK Government spokeswoman said: "The Prime Minister has been clear that he will reindustrialise Britain, and we are determined to secure the long-term future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster. We have ringfenced £200 million from the National Wealth Fund, alongside £14.5 million for other site investments - with the first investment already made and set to create over 300 jobs. In December, we committed a further £120m to safeguard hundreds of jobs at the site and have also expanded the Falkirk & Grangemouth Growth Deal to £100m."
"The decision to close the refinery was a commercial one. The UK Government will continue to take the necessary action and work closely with investors to secure strategic, long-term support to ensure the pivotal industrial cluster provides the good-quality, secure green jobs of the future."
In his first speech following the resignation of Starmer, Burnham told an audience outside 10 Downing Street of his plans to "back British industry" through public procurement. "In the 1980s, Britain took some wrong turns," he said. "We will make this moment a circuit breaker for Britain, bringing forward the biggest changes in the last 40 years."
