Rethink Required as Starmer Mulls British Steel Plans
The SNP has called for Grangemouth options to be reconsidered as the Labour UK Government mull over nationalisation plans for British Steel.
It comes after it emerged Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering nationalising British Steel. The Guardian reports that Whitehall sources said the pair were aligned in considering steel to be of āhuge strategic importanceā and that āall options are on the table, including nationalisationā.Ā
Last month the Project Willow report into options for the Grangemouth site, the UK’s only oil refinery, found the site must switch to green energy to meet its vast need for power, and then use that to produce new sustainable products such as Sustainable Aviation Fuel.Ā
However, funding models have remained unclear. The UK Government’s Ā£200m pledge was cast into doubt as it was revealed the cash may come in the form of loans or only with outside investment.
The report followed UK ministers’ previous refusal to nationalise the refinery despite its huge importance to UK energy security and Scottish energy sector jobs.
Now, in light of British Steel nationalisation reports, the SNP has argued the Grangemouth site is of clear strategic national importance and, just like British Steel, must be reconsidered in the context of the global economic storm caused by Trump tariffs.Ā
SNP demand Grangemouth plans 'reconsidered' as British Steel nationalisation talks held, via @AlexofBrown https://t.co/99TTrrmzbr
— The Scotsman (@TheScotsman) April 10, 2025
Grangemouth is our sole refinery and central to our energy security. If British Steel is considered viable for nationalisation as an industry of strategic national importance then our ability to sustain our energy demand surely is too.Ā
STEPHEN FLYNN, SNP WESTMINSTER LEADER
The UK is isolated in a global economic storm and we need a re-think from the Labour Government in that context – energy security is a matter of national security and Grangemouth is central to that.
Scotland’s vast energy wealth has a role to play in supporting our European partners as America becomes an increasingly unreliable ally and we should view all of our assets in those conditions, particularly as a global trade war rages.Ā
The Labour Government keep telling us “the world has changed”, but it’s time they rose to that challenge, ditched the fiscal rules and invested in key strategic priorities including our energy sector – that brings security, it brings growth and it secures jobs.
The future of Grangemouth is a litmus test for any government that reports to take our energy security seriously and has ambitions for sustainable growth – I urge the UK Labour Government to rise to that challenge.
'If British Steel is considered viable for nationalisation as an industry of strategic national importance, then our ability to sustain our energy demand surely is too'
— The Herald (@heraldscotland) April 10, 2025
SNP calls for nationalisation of Grangemouth refineryhttps://t.co/QRtyP2B2iS pic.twitter.com/RSYav2D9Eg
