John Healey urged to deliver £200m Grangemouth money at Budget
The Chancellor has been told by the SNP to “finally deliver the which was promised to halt the industrial destruction” of the area.
John Healey has been urged to deliver the £200m Labour promised for Grangemouth in today’s Budget.
The Chancellor has been told by the SNP to “finally deliver the which was promised to halt the industrial destruction” of the area.
The UK Government announced that Grangemouth would receive £200m from the National Wealth Fund in February last year, but it recently admitted that none of the money had yet been spent.
It comes as nearly 400 more jobs in Grangemouth are under threat after Syngenta announced plans to cease operations at its plant earlier this month.
SNP MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow Martyn Day, whose constituency includes Grangemouth, said: “The Labour Party promised it would save Grangemouth, but instead let the refinery die and we are now seeing the disastrous consequences with hundreds of skilled jobs gone and fuel prices soaring to record levels.
“We were then promised £200 million to support the site but 18 months on not a penny of the cash has been delivered while billions has been plunged into saving similar industrial sites in England.
“At the budget and with hundreds of more jobs in the area now at risk, the Chancellor must finally deliver the money which was promised to halt the industrial destruction of our area.
"Failure to deliver the funding would be the latest in a string of broken Labour promises which have seen the people of Grangemouth treated as an afterthought by Westminster time and time again.”
Mr Healey will lay out his tax and spending plans when he gives his first Budget in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.
It is also the first Budget since Andy Burnham became Prime Minister in the summer.
The Government has so far sought to play down the statement, and has already announced some small cost of living measures which will be included.
Among the measures is the removal of tariffs on a range of food items, including chocolate, garlic, beans and gherkins.
The slashing of levies from 100 food items could save households up to £21 per person.
Some 400 workers at the Grangemouth oil refinery were made redundant when it stopped refining oil last year and became an imports terminal.
When asked last month if he would make the site a “top priority”, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “I understand that there is a possibility of sustainable aviation fuel production at Grangemouth.
“I find that very interesting, and I keep coming back to it. Perhaps my honourable friend wishes me to persuade No10 North to support him in the development of that proposal.
“I know that there is a financial commitment, but if we do reindustrialise, the money that we put forward to support that process can pay us back over many years to come, through a bigger and flourishing economy in all parts of the UK.”
Chemicals producer Syngenta placed 377 jobs at risk last month when it started a formal consultation with trade unions and and workers over closing its Grangemouth site.
The Swiss-owned technology company produces crop protection and seeds for farmers around the world.
In May 2025 Syngenta was awarded £2.2m from Scottish Enterprise to expand production, creating 38 new jobs and safeguarding 14 existing roles.
The funding was towards a £14.7m project to expand production.
The UK Treasury said it would not comment so close to the Budget.
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