Scotland’s last remaining oil refinery at Grangemouth could well be shut down in a matter of weeks.
Petroineos has already agreed redundancy terms with hundreds of workers.
But still Labour and the SNP are at each other’s throats blaming the “other side” for this economic calamity.
Plans are in place by its owners to convert the site of the refinery into a fuels-import terminal.
While better than nothing, this new facility will require just a few dozen workers instead of several hundred.
Owner Petroineos made no secret of its view – hotly disputed by the Unite union – that the refining operation was no longer economically viable.
It pre-warned both Holyrood and Westminster in 2023 that a decision had been made to close it.
Yet it is only now that calls for nationalisation of the refinery have been made.
In the wake of the UK Government saving the country’s last major steel works at Scunthorpe, questions are suddenly being asked over why the same can’t happen at Grangemouth.
Scottish Labour have now responded by suggesting the SNP government could have stepped in and saved the refinery five years ago.
While the SNP say Labour should do for Grangemouth what it has done for Scunthorpe and bring the refinery into public hands now.
So instead of saving the plant, we have governments in Edinburgh and London blaming each other for a lack of action to prevent closure. This is exactly the kind of disjointed, finger-pointing politics that does nobody any favours.
The UK and Scottish governments must work together to find long-term options for Scotland’s largest industrial site.
Co-operation, not petty political point-scoring, is what’s needed here.
Thinner blue line
The latest firebombing in Scotland’s ongoing gangland feud involved an attack on a home while children slept inside.
This is an escalation of an already volatile situation and marks a new low for the thugs responsible.
It seems like it is now only a matter of time before innocent people are badly hurt or killed in this cycle of violence.
Now the boss of the organisation which represents frontline cops is warning a lack of resources is hampering efforts to tackle organised crime.
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David Kennedy, of the Scottish Police Federation, says “chronic staffing shortages” are making it harder for police to crack down on the gangsters.
This situation can’t be tolerated.
Police Scotland requires extra resources to keep us all safe.
This should be the first duty of any government and this warning from frontline cops must be heeded.
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