THE UK Government's approach to Grangemouth has been "passive" and "not good enough", according to the Scottish Labour MP representing the area.
Brian Leishman, who has been outspoken about his party's policies on the refinery, Waspi compensation and arms sales to Israel, spoke out as redundancy letters were sent to Grangemouth staff with closure looming.
In a social media video on Wednesday night, the MP accused Keir Starmer of "letting all of Scotland down" by failing to save the site.
It was announced last year that the central Scotland facility would close and transition into being an import terminal as owners Petroineos reported massive losses.
The shift is expected to keep around 65 of the roughly 500 jobs on the site and redundancy letters have begun being handed to staff.
"Today's news that the redundancy notices have been issued to workers at the Grangemouth refinery is beyond sad," Leishman told followers. "It's also an absolute disgrace that it's been allowed to come to this stage.
"Both the Scottish and UK governments have been asleep at the wheel for years. Now this is not a problem that Labour created but what I will say is my party in government have been very very passive and it's not been good enough, we have not dealt with this issue nearly well enough.
"We promised in the General Election campaign that we'd step in, we'd save the jobs at the refinery and build Grangemouth for the future. Now the party leadership made that promise and by not following through with it they are letting the workers of Grangemouth and all of Scotland down.
"This isn't just a constituency issue for me in Alloa and Grangemouth. This will impact all of Scotland. Scotland's national and energy security will be weaker if we do not refine oil in Grangemouth."
Leishman (below) has been keen to see the nationalisation of the oil refinery.
A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “We know this is a concerning time for workers and their families, and we are leaving no stone unturned to find a viable long-term future for Grangemouth.
“Before July, there was no overall plan for the future of the Grangemouth refinery.
“Within weeks, we worked with the Scottish Government to put together an unprecedented £100m package to support the community and invest in the local workforce, along with tailored support to secure good, alternative jobs.
“We are also jointly funding Project Willow with £1.5m, which is urgently engaging with trade unions and developing options for a sustainable industrial future at the site.”
