Professor John Robertson OBA
Today, BBC Scotland and the Scotsman, have the above, and:
The UK government has said it will not offer financial support to keep the Exxon Mobil plant at Mossmorran open. Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening, Business Minister Chris McDonald said there was no realistic business plan to go with investment. He said ExxonMobil’s chairman Paul Greenwood had told him that the plant was inefficient and would need nearly £1bn of spending to make it profitable.
The chairman told the minister? That’s the effort they put in to try to save it?
There are five other Ethylene plants – 2 in Wales (Still Labour but at risk), 2 in Hampshire and 1 in Teeside.
Readers will remember the UK Government’s refusal to save Scotland’s only oil refinery, despite 90% of oil coming from Scottish waters, for similarly casual assessments.
There are still five other oil refineries in the UK – Hampshire, Lincolnshire, Pembrokeshire, Cheshire and Lincolnshire. The Lindsey refinery in Lincolnshire was saved at the cost of ‘more than £1bn: https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2025/07/lindsey-oil-refinery-could-cost-taxpayers-1billion/
Scotland’s share of the costs for saving an English oil refinery so that it can replace a Scottish oil refinery to refine oil almost entirely from Scottish waters, around £100m.
The UK Labour Government has in the last year also intervened directly to save steel manufacturing in Scunthorpe, Rotherham and Sheffield with the Scottish taxpayer inevitably sharing the cost, as well as introducing cap import quotas to further protect it. Scotland, of course, has no steel manufacturing thanks to previous UK governments.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
No words in print to describe these English Governments only action Independence now.
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It looks as though the UK government know we are going and are stripping all assets down to the bone.
Just waiting now for them to ban the turbine manufacturing plant at Ardesier because – Chinese spies – panic! After all turbines can be made in Lincolnshire the “renewables hub”.
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As a Fifer myself I have mixed feelings about this. The plant is notorious for air pollution and we are in the path of this but I feel desperately sorry for those workers and those businesses and people who depend on the plant for their livelihoods. As already said Independence cannot come quick enough so we are fully in charge of everything.
Robbo
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In an ideal independence world, those losing their jobs could be employed in other areas, renewables etc.
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While agreeing with all the comments above, if we don’t get a move on and achieve Independence, there will be sod all left for future Scots. Action please.
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G Caldow
This is the result of pitiful strategy or incompetence, depending on how you view this. The leadership of Scotland has been absent in tackling the underlying cause of this as they ceded control to so-called environmental pressure groups in the context of Net Zero.
I am not a climate change denier but there has been numerous incidences where proper investigation has not been done as a group shout loudest. Missing have been the practical engineers who could move us closer and closer to net zero while we transition, not just soundbites and overpriced reports which regurgitate the same meaningless garbage with little substance.
You cannot view the issues of Scotland’s industrial plants in isolation but along with Europe’s struggling plants.
While I’m not a fan of Radcliffe, he did warn over five years ago that the extra costs involved in adhering to Health and Safety and Environmental issues made the costs of such manufacturing in the Uk and Europe unsustainable.
By losing Grangemouth, the Chemical side will be facing closure shortly when Radcliffe opens his Belgium chemical site and now Mossmorran, 16% plus of Scottish industrial value will be lost which will lead to further contraction as their suppliers lay off staff.
What we see with the Petrol import at Grangemouth is the lower cost of producing in countries with no Health and Safety for staff and no Environmental controls. So we are importing more emissions and making those countries poisonous for the local population.
I hope those Environmentalists who campaigned to have the emissions controlled here are happy.
I don’t know about Mossmorran but I do know that at Grangemouth those Environmental controls work against reducing emissions. Each part of the plant has a limit which prevents them moving “waste” to another part of the plant were it could be used to benefit both the company and the emissions. North Sea oil is not uniform, so it may come in high in methane. Now at that part of the plat, methane is not wanted for the product they are manufacturing so it needs to be flamed off. If they could put it to their power plant, for instance, they could use it instead of Natural Gas, reducing demand which should reduce prices and lower costs for themselves.
By utilising such actions the site emissions could be reduced by upto 30%.
I’ve no doubt Flynn will ask a docile question about it in the house and get told to shut up and accept it.
At FM questions tomorrow, the same, “Do something.” “It’s your fault.”
What would be good would be an actual attack on the Labour Government on how they value Scotland in comparison to England. Alexander Dennis, Grangemouth Petrol and now Mossmorran over Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
What would be even better would be a passionate, not dry political speak, about what the SNP would be doing in an Independent Scotland to protect and nurture indigenous industries.
Covid showed how integrated supply chains and people were. If we lose Oil products are you willing to lose what they help produce? Like much we have no Plan B, so turning it off is not an option. Reduce certainly, lower climate damage certainly.
Using North Sea Oil rather than buy from non-regulated sources would be a win for both sides.
So John Swinney, strike back for Scotland. Trump showed how Tariffs can work to progress change. The SNP wish to be part of the EU, (not my wish) so shout out about working with them to introduce tariffs to protect our industries and the environment. Work with businesses to reduce emissions rather than just penalise. Have Shona Robison introduce an energy export tax on Electricity to help offset the cuts coming from Reeves bankers budget. (Ford did it for Ontario over Trump’s tariffs)
Show, for once, How an Independent Scotland would benefit the people!
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This could only now be described as scorched earth policy. They are trying to destroy anything which might help an independent Scotland. And as George Foulkes once said, they are doing it on purpose.
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